Victorious Origins
by ScottyBgood
Summary: Every super has an origin. Even the gang at Hollywood Arts. So, what are they, and how do they come together? And why use Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.? Cause that show overlaps with the whole Marvel universe, or course. So come along and see who is more then human, and who just is. Pre-Jori
1. Chapter 1: prolog, after the incident

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the source material or characters. I just put them together to see what comes out. I make no money off this.

:}

Malcolm Anderson walked into the building that housed The Hollywood Arts High School for the Performing Arts, remembering his own time in school. He'd been trying, even then, to get into strongman competitions. It'd placed him among the bodybuilding club, even though they'd had different goals with how they worked out. Him for strength and power, them for mass and appearance. It had also been one of the first real shifts in his perception on life.

Mal was six foot five, and weighted over three hundred and fifty pounds. Back in High school, he'd walked in and immediately was a prime candidate too be a bully. Of course, people picked on him too, making him feel left out, but that was par for the course. No one pushed him around. Not since grade school. Instead, as he'd grown, he'd slowly morphed into one of the playground tough's who pushed others around. But when he joined the bodybuilding club, and found himself surrounded by the kids trying to get buff so that the bullies would lay off them, his attitude had to change. It was that, or not be allowed to use the equipment. And the coaches were the best, inspiring him to keep working, keep chasing his dream.

This school was colorful, the kind of place where the big guy would want to send his own kids, if he ever got around to having any. He was still relatively young, barely ten years out of school. Ten years into a career that was a far cry from the strongman competitions he used to dream of dominating. Ten years learning what a light weight he truly was. He stopped to admire the lockers, letting himself get lost in the memories. He was early anyways. He always tried to be early, so he could scope out the place, get the lay of the land. But today, it was the memories that help remind him of why he was here.

Her name may have been Jasmine, but they called her jade, because she seemed so jaded. What she was, it turned out, was determined. She'd been in the body building club too, working on strength and conditioning. The girl had a goal, something she was going to achieve no matter what, and she pushed everything aside to make it. Mal liked that, could understand that kind of dedication. She became his secondary obsession, the thing that would ironically drag him away from his original goals.

"Excuse me, I'm Malcolm Anderson, the new security guard. I believe miss Dubois is expecting me." He told the secretary casually.

"Please take a seat." She told the mountain of a man. He looked around the administration office, and realized somethings never change. The outer office was too conventional for the rest of the school. He pushed that from his mind, allowing the nostalgia of a p-lace totally different then this to come back to him. He found a chair and sat down.

Jasmine, or Jade as he called her, was an athlete. He'd made it a point to work out with her, running or lifting. They made it through two years of kinda sorta dating before she told him why she wouldn't get seriously involved with anyone. She had a friend in SHIELD, and was gonna prove she was SHIELD material too. She was joining. Like the fool he was, he followed her into the organization, made it through basic training and received a training officer.

He thrived, more then he thought he would. The training was discipline, something he' lived with as an aspiring strong man. But the big difference was that they forced him to be something more then a big guy, they forced him to thrive as part of a team. He trained hard, and became a field agent. To distinctive for most field assignments, he often drew bodyguard positions. Something that he was built for. But he did other things too, and worked his way up despite his limited time in service. Then, just as he reached level five, an impressive accomplishment for such a short time, his world came falling apart. Hydra had infiltrated every part of SHIELD, and they were telling him that he had to join, or else.

He was better then the men they'd sent to stop him. He was able, with stealth they didn't realize he had, to get out of the base he'd been in and contact someone he prayed was on his side. His jade, Jasmine, turned out had been offered a chance to join Hydra. She'd accepted, but only to be on the inside when the whole house of cards fell apart. Her actions led to the recapture of a base, the capture or death of dozens of Hydra agents, and safe transport out of the organization for the two.

"Mister Anderson, so nice to meet you." Helen said, opening the door and showing him into her office. The woman was different then most bosses. She didn't just have him sent in, she walked him in. For a security guard, this was rarefied treatment. "I was surprised when we got the grant, and you came so highly recommended. We really didn't need another security guard, except that, in these trying times, every bit of security helps."

But SHIELD refused to die. Malcolm had made the organization his life, so he wasn't going to let it die. In time, he was contacted by Phil Coulson, the new director of SHIELD. Him and Jasmine, who was now his wife. They were given the chance to join, and they'd talked it out. They talked, and they talked, until they agreed that Malcolm would do far better back in that organization. Jasmine was now a reserve agent, and soon would be the mother of his child. And Mal, he was level Five now. And he had a mission.

"Miss Dubois, I'm not going to insult your intelligence by pretending that you haven't figured out that there was a string attached to my employment." He started. "The simple truth is, I'm with the new SHIELD. Like our predecessor, we have a lot of duties to perform, including protecting you from those with unusual abilities, and helping protect those of them we find from others trying to take advantage of them. I'm here to keep an eye on someone, and to make sure everyone, and I mean everyone, is safe. The extent of my duties will remain classified. Just know, this position, it'll allow me to maintain my cover and still do my job. You have my word that things will run as smoothly as possible. As far as anyone is concerned, I'm just the new security guard."

"And why tell me?" Helen asked.

"As I said, I'm not going to insult your intelligence." Mal said. "Beyond making my job easier, I'm sure you already suspected something was off. Out of the blue, you get a grant to hire a new security guard, complete with a hiring recommendation. You'd have had to be an idiot to not suspect something. I'm trusting you not to share what I've told you."

"Who're you watching?" Helen pushed.

The big man gave a sigh. "Just know that everyone is safe." He said. "I'm not telling you any more then I feel you need to know. My charge, or charges, I'll contact, and let them know I'm here. I'll keep an eye on the school, help keep everyone safe, like a good security guard. I control my shift, but I'll follow your suggestions if they don't interfere with my job. That means, for now, I'm day shift only, unless I need to cover a different shift. As for the rest of security, once I know the other security guards are okay, I'll tell them what they need to know. Now, if there's nothing else, I have work to get done. I look forward to working with you."

He stood up and offered the woman his hand. Helen shook it, but the look on her face told him she wasn't happy about the arrangement. 'Still, thats taken care of. Now, I've got three people to watch, as well as...Coulson sure put a lot of responsibility on me. Comes wit the rank, I guess' He had walked out of Helen's office by then, and was looking around the main hall.

"Excuse me?" He asked a boy at a locker, a locker that had been described to him, the one that looked like a keyboard. 'A working keyboard?'

"Can I help you?" The young man asked. He was black, medium height with a solid build and dreadlocks.

"I'm looking for an Andre Harris." Mal said. The large man pulled out his phone to pull up the picture he'd been sent.

"Thats me." Andre said.

"Can I have a moment, in private?' The agent asked.

"Okaaaay." Andre said. The boy was cautious, not sure what to make of this mountain of a man. Still, they walked to the janitors closet. "Whats up?"

"I'm agent Anderson, of SHIELD." He told the boy, flashing his badge. "I'm going to be your training officer. As of this moment, your functionally an agent trainee. They told me how good you are. I suspect you'll get through the training in no time."

"So soon?" Andre stage whispered. "I just got back from the semester break training I'd done. I thought it'd take time to assign me a training officer."

"I have other duties here." The big man continued. "Sorry, but you were the tacked on part. I just... You trained with Captain America, right?"

"Hand to hand." Andre said. "And I have the distortion gear."

'He already has a code name? How'd I get into this?' Malcolm thought to himself. "I might need your help. I'm watching a couple of people on the index who go to this school, and I may need to look at several people who disappeared for the week immediately following the incident at the Harrison theater. What can you tell me about Jade West, Cat Valentine, Beck Oliver, and Robbie Shapiro?"

"Those are some of my best friends." Andre said, clearly shocked. "We all hang out. I mean, like, every day."

"Then all I'm gonna ask is for you to watch and see if they do anything unusual. Anything different about them, you tell me." Agent Anderson stressed. "Anything. We're not trying to force them to do anything they don't want to, we're just trying to keep everyone safe." He looked to see if Andre understood. "There may be other missions, things we need you to do. Lets stay in touch. Whats your cell phone number?"

"Okay." Andre said, adding himself tot he security guards contact list. "And the Vega sisters?"

"You know about them?" Anderson asked.

"Director Fury filled me in, just last night." Andre said.

"I'll let you know." Mal said. 'Man, this kid... he's gonna be something, isn't he. I wonder if I could take him? Best not to dwell. The super humans, only a handful of us seem to be able to hand with them. I guess he wasn't a tack on.'

:}

Hi all. This is the prolog to Victorious origins. My first try at forcing them into the Marvel universe. It's an Agents of SHIELD crossover, simply because everything crosses over in marvel. Hope you enjoy this piece. I'm not done, and updates will be whenever I feel like it. Also, this may lead to another story, one with more of a plot. Please, enjoy, and feel free to guess what each person is slash can do slash whatever. I hope you'll be surprised.


	2. Chapter 2 Andre's story

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters from Victorious or any Marvel owns. I just thought it would be fun to have them do something together. And the whole dance off didn't work.

Alert. Most of the origins started long before the incident at the Harrison Theater. I will be presenting them in the format I wrote them, which is not consistent from origin to origin. Also, their lengths will vary. That being said, lets start with a bit more on Andre.

Warning, Spoilers for season two of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

:}

When Andre thought about his life, and how it had come to that choice, he used to just let it go. After all, some things are a matter of family. And his family, well, that conflict was the root of who he was, for years, until the day of the incident... But thats getting ahead of the story.

Andre's earliest memories were happy ones, of his mother and father playing with him, or the various family members taking their turn watching him. He would sometimes visit family, scattered across the US, some who's relationships seemed tenuous to the child. Second, third cousins dropped by with alarming regulatory, representing both sides of the family. And they played all kinds of games, both with him and amongst themselves, even thought some of them didn't make sense to the small child. But that was normal for a boy who's two sides of the family were so different.

There was a distinct difference between the Harris side of the family, and the Triplett side of the family. The Harris side was everything an upwardly mobile, lower middle class black family was supposed to be. They'd moved out of the post world war two track housing neighborhood they'd been in, the one that was mostly set up for black families, and moved a few miles away into Hollywood, just to give their children a better future. A future with better schools, less violence, and anything else they believed was married to the poverty and oppression that had befallen the old neighborhood. They believed in the American dream, raised Andre to believe in it, in family, and in music. He helped take care of his grandmother Charlotte, learned from her, listened to her, and would come to idolize her. In short, it was a life that taught him to understand he was black, but that was just the color of his skin, it didn't define him.

He learned his love of music from his father, Albert. Albert Harris worked as an insurance adjuster. Not the most thrilling occupation, but it was secure. The senior Harris had taken the job back when he was a struggling musician with a wife and child on the way. The older man wasn't that great a musician. He could play the notes, just not make the music, and he was just good enough to tell the difference. But Andre grew up in a house full of music and instruments. His father taught him how to play every one the older man had tried in his life. But where the senior Harris man had skill, the younger one had talent. Andre not only learned how to play each one, but he brought a passion to it that impressed the whole family. Soon, they were pulling for him. And Albert, far from feeling jealous, saw a future where his son would follow the dreams the older man had to abandon, making music for a living. Andre could play piano in a symphony, or sing in a jazz band, Albert didn't care. Just as long as Andre was happy, and making beautiful music for a living.

Now the Triplett side of the family, that was a very different story. His mother, Martha, had married his father to get away from them, her side of the family, but still carried their belief in duty and sacrifice in her heart. It was her that insisted they take care of Charlotte, even as the old woman slowly went batty. Martha agreed to move out of the old neighborhood, to help their children get a decent start, but she also preached that they couldn't abandon their past. She worked, volunteered, to help improve the poor, struggling neighborhoods, regardless of the prevailing color. No, Andre's mom was a fighter. It went with the rest of her family.

That one concept seemed to define the Triplett side of the family, being fighters, both in a literal and figurative sense. They seemed to have a family will that pushed them to achieve whatever it was on their minds, or pick themselves up and try again if they didn't get what they were after. But they kept at it, pushing, just like Martha.

Andre understood the concept, even as he developed a hatred of fighting. It covered any use of violence, since he'd been taught from an early age to use violence only as a last resort. In sixth grade, it would have surprised his bully to know Andre was already functionally belted in Jujitsu and Kempo karate. That was just one of the strange games that he was taught from his mothers side of the family, how to fight. Self defense, and gun play, and weapons and stealth, all games that the Triplett side seemed to teach all their children. Often they weren't punished for sneaking around so much as for getting caught.

The real shift in his life happened before sixth grade, when Andre turned ten years old. That was when the games changed from being just unusual fun to being serious. That was when his life would change for ever. It was when he was initiated into the family duty. His first cousin, Antoine Triplett, had come by to take him to visit his grandmother. The old woman had held on through the years, staying alive almost out of duty. She told him of her father, Gabe Jones, and how he'd been in the Howling Commando's. She told him of the adventures he'd had, fighting Nazi's, and helping establish S.H.I.E.L.D. She spoke of his deeds, and the organization he'd helped get started, with a reverence. Then she spoke of duty. "Every member of this family has to be ready." She'd told him. "One day, you may choose to follow in Gabe's footsteps. Like Trip here. You see, you too may, one day, decide to join S.H.I.E.L.D., and serve."

"But grandma, I'm gonna be a musician." Andre had protested.

"Thats a fine way to serve, too." She'd said. "Just, we owe it to the Howling Commando's, which was the first integrated unit by the way, to show the world we're as good as anyone else. So whatever you do, be great at it."

Andre carried those words with him, ever since that day. So when he had the chance to study martial arts with the family, he did so. He learned to defend himself and others. He learned to take a larger man down, both without hurting him, and in a way that would leave the man unable to move. Andre learned how to shoot, to play war, to do the things that his mother had run away from. He learned to be a soldier in the secret wars that S.H.I.E.L.D. fought, just in case.

And he learned music. If anything, after his visit with the Triplett side of the family, Martha Harris embraced his interest in music more then her husband did. She was the one pushing for Albert to learn a new instrument, just so he could show little Andre. She took the boy to violin lessons, to piano recitals, and to anything else she could find. As Andre grew to truly understand his mothers side of the family, start to look like he was going to follow the legacy, she pushed even harder. She became the stage mom who pushed her child, and took him to auditions. She even got him a part as the understudy to the local kid playing Young Simba in the stage production of the lion King. It awake a desire to act in the boy, but didn't do much else

As much as Andre wanted to embrace the Harris side of the family, follow his passion and maybe find something he was good at, he also had the Triplett side weighing him down. He continued to visit his mothers family, learn what he could. As Antone disappeared into his work, other members of the family stepped up. They weren't necessarily SHIELD, or even spy's, but they did have the skills Andre would need if he decided to follow that side of the family. And they were eager to show the young man, teach him what they could. It was the family duty.

As he got into middle school, he ran into what to him was his next real life altering moment. Andre didn't like to fight. He never liked to think that he could be responsible for hurting someone, causing them pain. He understood the necessity, and would if he had to, but often backed down instead of facing a bully. And in middle school he found himself facing what to him was the mother of all bullies. Jadelyn West, or Jade as she preferred to be called, was the scariest girl he'd ever met, including anyone from his mothers side of the family. Her eyes told a story of horror and pain, not so much of her suffering as what she'd do to anyone who tried to get in her way. There was a moment where he could have thrown down with her, when she was pushing him around. But she took a stance, and he instantly knew someone had taught her how to fight. He'd taken a risk and assumed that whomever had taught her also taught her not to fight if she didn't have to. He started backing down, not giving up, just letting her know that the fight wasn't worth the risks, and she followed suit. Then they got to talking, and found they had a mutual friend. Beck Oliver had just started dating this freak after she'd tossed his old girlfriend into a nearby park lake. However, as he got to know her, he realized something about her. Her eyes spoke of someone who only knew one way to fight, and that was to kill. That scared him more then he wanted to admit.

Andre had backed down from a fair number of fights. He'd learned that most fights didn't have to happen. He was moderately tall, defiantly athletic, and posed a fairly intimidating figure when he wanted to. Most times he'd found another way to work out the problems, since most bullies didn't want to risk losing a fight. Andre really didn't want to hurt anyone. He became good at finding other solutions. But Jade, she was a different animal entirely. He knew she'd fight, someone, somewhere, and had to find a way to keep that from happening. Because when she fought, someone was going to get seriously hurt, if not dead

He called his cousin, Antone, and they'd talked. From there, he'd called a few other members of his family. Most of them weren't into conflict resolution, preferring to deal with any problem straight on. But eventually he was placed in contact with a Phil Coulson, and the strange man talked the boy through how he'd deal with his new bully problem.

When Andre found himself face to face with Jade again, they spoke of Cat. Andre had used his friendship with her to observe the goth girl, and he felt he'd found her weakness. Now he was using that weakness, her fondness for her friend Cat Valentine, to talk the girl down. He'd started by talking about how Cat had to feel, the way various people made fun of her, just because of how different her brother was. They agreed it was a bad thing when people picked on sweet little Cat. Then he pushed out, until they agreed it was bad when anyone picked on anyone. As a result, Jade toned down her bullying. She wouldn't give it up entirely, choosing instead to pick targets that wronged her or could take it, but Andre had stopped the mean girl from becoming a true bully. He was proud of himself for that. He and Jade also became better friends, and he convinced her that resorting to violence was best left as a last resort. He was, it seemed, one of the few people the scary beauty would unequivocally call friend.

Two years later, while in the summer between ninth and tenth grade, Andre would be given one of the few real pushes from his mothers side of the family to follow their path. It was disguised as a nice thing, a moment for the boy to remember forever. He was visiting a distant uncle in Washington, one who worked as an intelligence annalist, when just after lunch the boy was brought to a strange building to meet a tall, blond man. "Andre, I'd like for you to meet Steve Rogers." His uncle had said.

"Andre." The boy introduced himself, trying to be as nice to this man as he could, not knowing why.

"Steve here is adjusting back to the modern world, after living someplace a bit out of touch." The uncle said. "I was thinking, maybe you could talk to him, about music, and movies, and that kind of thing. Help him catch up. Steve's into a lot of older things."

The uncle then stepped back to let them talk, giving the illusion of privacy. They were in some building Andre knew nothing about, in a large open indoor courtyard where he had been brought to meet this man. There were a lot of people about, some of whom had stopped to watch this supposedly informal meeting, while the rest continued on with their busy lives.

Once the uncle was comfortable backed up, Andre got to talking with this strange man. "So, how far out of date are you, music wise?"

"Over seventy years." Steve said, smiling. "But that was just an excuse to get to talk to you. I've heard some good things about you. You're smart, quick, and seem to understand when not to fight. I was wondering, would you like to show me some moves?"

"I hope your talking about dancing." Andre said, looking at the other people near by. Many were watching him, seemingly unconcerned about this strange man. It was like they knew something he didn't.

"Nope, fighting. Let me get suited up, and we can train a bit." Mister Rogers said "Then you can show me your fighting moves. Maybe I can help you see where your getting stuck."

Andre laughed, but agreed to play along. Several minutes later he was in a gym room with mats, surrounded by many of the same people who'd been watching outside, face to face with Captain America. "Okay, Andre, or do you prefer Dre?" The living legend asked, "Show me what you've got."

Andre was suddenly nervous. He'd trained with family members for years, but never felt he was the best. However, now he was going to go one on one with Captain America, in front of an audience that included (Unknown to him) Nick Fury. Taking a halting step, he launched a quick kick to the skull.

Seconds later, he was down. "Okay, relax. If your going to get anything out of this session, I need you at your best. So come at me, but don't think about the people watching. Concentrate on the fight, who might get involved, but ignore anything that isn't part of the fight."

Andre repeated the same move, pulling it short at the last second and flipping over to take out the legends legs. It was a beautiful move that would have dropped almost anyone else. But this was Captain America, and he'd just rolled through. "That was good. But don't stop at one move. You should have been ready for if I fell for it, and if I didn't. Otherwise you hesitate, and that gives your opponent time to think, and act." Once more, Andre was on the floor.

It went on like that for hours, practically the rest of the day. Mister rogers gave Andre a lot of time, considering that he was an American hero, while Andre was just some kid visiting his uncle. Afterwords, they talked. "I was told you play over a dozen instruments. You planing on being a musician?"

"Hope so." Andre said. "Sorry to waste your time."

"No waste." Steve said, the mask was now off, showing a more relaxed image of the living legend. "I was told you had a lot of potential. I just wanted to see for myself."

"And?" Andre asked.

"You've got potential." Cap confirmed. "But it might be a waste to have you trying to be the next agent to earn a code name, when you could be playing for the... what bands are around now a days?"

"All kinds." Andre replied. "And it might. But it also might be a waste if I'm busy playing guitar when the world needs me."

"Then you need to find a balance." Steve said. "Dre, play your music, but also train. Be involved with S.H.I.E.L.D., but don't let them rob you of what you love doing. In the end, have a life. If, one day, you want what Widow or Hawkeye have, then you can make it. I saw you fight."

"But I don't like to hurt people." The musician complained.

"Then don't." The soldier replied. "Choose your weapons, and your skills, and specialize in bringing them down without hurting them. Maybe, one day, you'll even get the right equipment to move up to the code name level. Just, understand, I don't want you to make the wrong choice for you."

"I won't, sir." Andre assured the hero. "I won't."

After that, Andre would get periodic visits from the living legend, sometimes to train, sometimes to just help the older man live. Andre could see how duty, and his abilities, weighed mister Rogers down. It was that appreciation for life that made the decision for Andre. That, and what happened to the world as time progressed.

He watched S.H.I.E.L.D. fall. The three new Helicarriers blew themselves out of the sky, and ended the immediate threat of a reborn Hydra, only to reveal how deeply they'd infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. Then his cousin Antone died in some alien city, trying to save some comrades, all while his organization wasn't even recognized by the government. But SHIELD rebounded, recovered. Andre did some undercover work, not for SHIELD, but for Captain America, helping to look for a cyborg with mad fighting skills. He didn't get much, whomever this Winter Soldier was, he was good at hiding himself. But the exposure gave Andre some field experience, and reminded him that his brain was more important then any special equipment.

But the agency, SHIELD, it continued to rebound, and now that man Coulson, had contacted him. They wanted to talk about was the special equipment the scientists at Van Cleef labs, a subsidiary of Van Cleef Rubber, had come up with. Andre could well be the only person alive who could use it. "We want you to train with it. It requires some special skills, and they said you might have whatever it takes to make it work."

"Maybe when I go on Semester break." He'd told the commander. "And first, I have to help out with a play."

"Then could you do me another favor before the weekend?" Coulson asked. "It involved running down a lead."

"Sure..." Andre said. "But the play starts at six Pm, Friday, at the Harrison theater."

"It's not for me, per say." The director said. "Captain America needs it. Said he'd worked with you before. He'll be around the LA area..."

Andre would agree, just because Mister rogers had become one of his friends. 'Besides, who can say no to Captain America?'

:}

Thats it for this chapter. What did you think of Andre's history. I left hints about another in this, and I'll let you know, your probably wring, unless your right. Then, it was kinda obvious, wasn't it. But anyways, what did you think of Andre's origin. Just shows that sometimes, great fighters don't just happen. Not as harsh as The Black Widows past, but still a long time of training for the moment he donned that special equipment. As for the equipment, I'll cover that after I get through all the pre-Harrison incident stuffs.

For those who didn't know, (Spoiler alert) Antone Triplett was a member of the team in agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., replacing Grant Ward from when Hydra was outed in the first season, about the time Winter Soldier was in theaters, until about half way through the second season when he died trying to save Sky. It was the start of the Inhuman ark of the story.

So review, let me know what you think.

Next, Robbie.


	3. Chapter 3 Robbie and Rex

Disclaimer: I don't own the Victorious characters or persona, and I certainly don't own anything from marvel. I also don't make anything out of this but the high I get when I get a review.

:}

Robbie and Rex, the two would become so intertwined, that they were seen as one entity. Their friends could not think of one with the other, no matter how much the puppet might want that image changed. But what some people forget was there was a time in Robbie's life before Rex came into it. A time when, as a boy, he had no idea what he wanted to do with his life. A time when he learned to be the clown to try and win some kind of attention from his disproving father. The time before Rex, when all that did was drive him to try harder. When Rex wasn't the influence it would be on him later.

Robbie was only seven when Rex first appeared in his life. Contrary to what most people think, it wasn't when he got the puppet, but the day that his grandfather discovered the strange power inside him. Murray had been studying Kabalistic magics like his ancestors, but only as a dabbler. He didn't have the drive of the exorcists who'd come before, and as a result didn't see the spirit that would be Rex for what it was. He saw only the potential Robbie had for something great, some kind of blessing by God that could be used for good. He felt that Robbie should become a Rabbi, and work on developing this gift from above. It was the old man's lack of studying, having chosen to go a different rout himself when he was young, that prevented him from recognizing what would one day be Rex was. He didn't recognize the spirit form as the golem spirit that had been dormant in his family line for generations, not even knowing that such a spirit existed, so he couldn't have known what that meant, or how to proceed.

Robbie, however, didn't immediately warm to his grandfathers idea. Even at seven, Robbie the Rabbi didn't sound like a good title to the boy. He did agree to practice with his abilities, learning how to manipulate objects. "Just, if I do become a Rabbi, it'll be because God spoke to me, not because you think I've got some kind of destiny." He'd told his grandfather, an unusual statement for a boy of seven.

Still, he did enjoy someone thinking he was special. In a way, he was thankful anyone did, given his family's tendency not to value their first born son. His father seemed to want his children to be like he was, or rather how he imagined he was, in the heavily edited memory he held on to of his own childhood. And when they failed to live up to that image, even at the tender age of seven, he wrote them off. Robbie's father probably wasn't the best choice to have married into such a mystic bloodline. If Murray had been paying attention, maybe the man's influence would have been mitigated. Maybe Robbie would have had more self esteem.

By eight, Robbie could move paper dolls with his abilities. And they had to look something humanoid, or they wouldn't move right. It was frustrating, how little progress he was making, but to those who knew about these kinds of things, it was an amazing improvement. "Boy's gonna be something when he masters that ability." His grandfather would say. Robbie was even starting to be able to make the paper fold itself into humanoid form. Too bad that didn't impress anyone.

Rex, meanwhile, hadn't formed it's personality quite yet. The ancient spirit of the golem, the one built to protect the Jewish people, the one who went amok and killed so many of the people it was supposed to protect, had in fact long ago split itself into two parts, two minds, and the one that scorned man was the stronger. The malevolent spirit attached to the boy remembered nothing beyond it's hatred of being a servant in King Solomon's temple, so long ago. But that hatred was blunted by the slowly forming persona of Rex Powers, the coolest kid Robbie could imagine, his next imaginary friend.

Robbie was ten when his parents got him the first body for Rex. They only knew their son played with dolls, and while worried, decided that a ventriloquists dummy was a safer thing for a young man to carry then Ken or Barbie. "No son of mine is going to show off his Malibu barbies fun time Beach House." His father had said, more then once. So the boy got a ventriloquists dummy, and several lessons in throwing his voice. And in the process, Rex got both his voice, and his name. At first, the voice was Robbie's, thrown by the aspiring ventriloquist. But the voice took it's own persona, and manipulated the boy into giving it life.

"Rob, I'm Rex, and you've been given a very important task." The puppet said to the boy one day, early in their relationship. "I'm a spacial puppet, more alive then most, and you need to be my caretaker. Until we're ready, I need people to think I'm just a part of you. But we'll know different, wont we. And your so lucky I was given to you, cause I'm the only real friend you're ever gonna have. So remember, if you this screw up, you'll wind up alone. You need me Rob. No one will love you otherwise. Look at your parents, how disappointed they are. Even your grandfather knows he was wrong, that you were never special. I'm the only special thing about you, so you need me. Remember that, and we'll get along just fine."

The scared, scrawny ten year old boy believed the puppet, accepted everything the growing force called Rex told him, and thus their lives together began. At the same time, Robbie's slowly increasing abilities with animating objects seemed to level off. He wasn't getting stronger, like his grandfather had expected. Instead, he just stayed the same, able to move just over two pounds of weight, and only if it looked human. He made the statues or stuffies or dolls walk, move, even in ways they weren't jointed to move, but he couldn't move more then those two to three pounds. And while he could make them talk, thanks to his ventriloquism, Rex forbade it. "I'm the only voice in your life, in your head, Rob. You don't need those scrunges mucking things up." Robbie never questioner why, just accepting that Rex was the only voice he needed.

When Robbie was twelve, Rex made his next decision, probably the only one that it ever made that benefited Robbie. "Rob, we're auditioning for Hollywood Arts Middle school. It's the feeder program to Hollywood Arts High School. I think you won't get as picked on there. Plus, we can be together at school, so I can look after you." The puppet had previously made Robbie look that school up. It had wanted to find a school where Robbie would be with it all the time, and the faculty would think that was normal. That same research was helping Rex develop more if his street persona, something that Robbie kinda accepted would happen.

"But my therapist says I just need to be less dependent on you." The nerdy boy said.

"You don't need no counselor getting all up in your biness." Rex countered. "Think of all the hot girls that would be at a performing arts school. Dancers, and girls who appreciate a good puppet."

"I don't know..." Rob was on the fence.

"Just do it." Rex commanded. 'I don't need you realizing I'm the reason those mean kids pick on you. And I don't want you to realize I treat you exactly the same way as that guy who makes you do his homework.' Rex thought as the spirit pushed for Robbie to make the change.

"Okay, I'll do it." Rob said. "Maybe, when I have a hot girlfriend, my dad will respect me again."

"Maybe." Rex said. "Or maybe he'll realize this is as manly as you get, and try grooming your sister to be the next man of the Shapiro house."

"Rex!" Robbie screeched.

"Relax, Rob, this is just tough love. You'll toughen up, maybe grow a pair, if we just keep this up." Rex calmed him down. Rex then made an effort not to pick on Robbie for the next couple of months, just to let him think he was making progress. But slowly the angry spirit, who could only manifest himself through the puppet, went back to his old ways and made Robbie the target of his pranks and sharp tongue.

But Hollywood Arts was a new experience for Robbie. At first, like all the middle schoolers, it was part time, as electives from another school. He'd do his morning classes at the middle school near by, then his performance classes at Hollywood arts. Still, that was one of the most exciting experiences of his life. He met Beck, and Andre, and Jade, and Cat, and they all seemed to accept him for who he was. Rex took his shots at them, both because he wanted to drive away any potential friends, and because it was his nature to try and hurt others. It played to the anger and rage he still felt for being imprisoned for all those centuries.

But Rex also learned valuable lesson. Jade, for whatever reason he couldn't fathom, could hurt him. Not just with her sharp whit, but physically. When someone else tore his arm off, it was just an inconvenience. But when Jade did it, he felt pain. Real, slowly fading pain. Jade represented the most significant threat he'd ever encountered. Something about the goth was mystic in nature, and while she didn't know it, her threats to throw him in a wood chipper were effectively death threats. While this would never dampen Rex's spirits, he still took shots at her, it did blunt his actions around the burgeoning goth.

It also attracted him to her in a way that was unnatural. And that caused another problem, one it had never had before. The spirit fought it as long as it could, with all it's will and hatred. But time and tide were against it, pulling at feelings it never had before. As a result of carrying so much of Robbie's insecurities, emotions, and maybe Jade's unexplainable effects, the puppet was developing a very human need. "Rob, we need to go out so I can score me some ladies." Rex announced. The boy was fourteen, and Rex was finally showing an interest in girls.

Originally, when the time came, Rex had at intended to fake it, pretend to be all hot and bothered but still too cool to care, because that was what Robbie expected out of the coolest guy at school. Maybe it was Jade's effect, or the growing needs of the boy it had made a symbiotic connection to, but the part of Rex that would want, need physical contact was now awakened. Rex became a Lothario, praying on the slow of mind and hot of body. "Got to get me some Northridge girls. They're taught from a young age what men want, and that it's better to give it then be alone. I'll bet even Robbie here could scone himself a Northridge girl." Rex once said. It would be one of it's obsessions from that moment forward.

Indeed, Rex picked up a lot of the personality traits Robbie associated with a cool high school boy. He loved the hot girls, perving out at every opportunity. He loved playing pranks, and was even there for some of his friends. Yes, his need for contact, both physical and emotional, was making the spirit want friends. Rex was becoming more of a person. But he still had the bad traits, and the desire for revenge. And he enjoyed making fun of people. Even Jade, who he secretly feared, he'd make fun of when he thought he could get away with it. He had the scars to prove it too.

By the time Tori came, things looked to be going the puppets way. Robbie was slowly losing his innocence about girls, learning that he couldn't fake cool. Rex was still growing, and controlled more of the boy then most people would believe. Robbarazzi was proof of that. In some ways, Rob's brush with school popularity was the puppets strongest point, pushing Robbie to exploit his friends for a brief moment in the sun, then drinking in the misery caused by the revealing of those rumors. The fact that it isolated Rob from his real friends while teaching the idea that others misery was his profit only helped.

But over time something Rex could never have guessed happened. Robbie would slowly develop a stronger personality of his own. Along the way, Rex almost died twice, warning signs that the spirit wasn't in as much control as it thought. The first time, he was sucked into a jet engine, one used to make FX wind for plays. Maybe it was Robbie believing he was dying, maybe it was Jade's presence, or maybe there was something else, but that moment in the hospital when the machine went silent, the malevolent spirit almost passed from this world. Tori, however, turned the machine back on, then told Robbie that Rex recovered. And because Robbie needed it, the puppet did. After that the spirit dug in deep to try and hold onto his link to this world. He even made sure Robbie would recover from the surgery he needed due to a bully, long ago, making him swallow that toy car. 'Still had to make sure Rob didn't know I needed him.' Rex reminded himself. Rex hated Rob, wanting to be free of the boy and able to do things on his own.

The second time Rex almost died was over a Year later, as a result of Robbie's continued personal growth. After receiving an offer from Mason Thornsmith, to much money to ignore, the nerdy boy decided to sell Rex. But this time, the spirit was dug in, holding on with all it's will. It tried to move to the new puppet, but ran into something unexpected that got in it's way. So it made Robbie see it, hear it's voice, through hallucinations during the day, even as a second persona started to emerge. And Rex hated Gunther, the persona that claimed the second puppet, more then it hated anything that had even happened to it.

Gunther had none of the spirits malevolence, none of it's hate. Instead, that puppet seemed to have snagged onto the supportive and protective nature the golem of the temple was supposed to have had, long before ambition and resentment sent it on a rampage. Gunther wanted to support Robbie, help him become the man it saw he could be, a true mystic and spiritual leader. But suffering from a form of Stockholm syndrome, and Rex's pull on his psyche, Rob ran back to the urban puppet and away from what Gunther represented. When his friends intervened, Rob got back the grumpy puppet, and Gunther went into storage.

All this time, Rex had been slowly marshaling his power. He'd kept Robbie practicing, in secret, never once letting the boy succeed more then a small amount. The last thing it wasted was for him to develop his strength enough to draw attention. Not from his grandfather, who'd long ago diverted to praising some cousin. Not from his parents, who were bad enough human beings that Rex felt lucky they were there to help financially support but emotionally isolate Rob. And not from SHIELD. No, the spirit didn't need anyone else helping in Robbie's development. It knew that if it let up for a moment the boy might think he could use that power to get the attention he so desperately wanted from the authority figures in his life. But the boys powers had increased, to the point where Rex could now move on his own, as long as Robbie was close by. It was a taste of freedom, just a taste, and Rex wanted more. It started to test, figure out just how much power it really had.

Once night, when Robbie was seventeen, he watched as Robbie concentrated on a small marionette. "Dance, damn you, dance." Rob said. The marionette weighed in at about four pounds, larger then the by was used to. Robbie had been determined to show some improvement, to somehow impress his grandfather Murray with his growth. Anything to win him some affection. The failure crushed him, just a little bit more.

"Give it up, Rob." Rex said. "You're not important. You don't have the Juice of an avenger. Hell, you don't even rate the SHIELD database. Face it, you'll never be that guy. Just be happy your self esteem died a long time ago, so you're the guy who can be made fun of for laughs. It's whats going to put food on your table, and you need me for that, cause your not funny, not talented, all you are is lucky I'm here to help take care of you."

Robbie, who's concentration was broken, looked back at Rex. "I suppose your right." He said, sighing, pushing back the tears. "So, got a hot date planned?"

Rex didn't immediately answer, instead using the flow of energy from Robbie to slowly form a man shaped earthen form outside, in his neighbors yard, standing in at over seven feet tall. He felt the power of it's movement, knowing this was, in it's own right, the power of the ancient golem. "Sorry Rob, what were you talking about?" The puppet asked.

"I was asking if you wanted to go out." Robbie said.

"Sorry, busy." Rex replied. "You should have made plans in advance."

"But, I... Why don't you want to spend time with me?" The boy asked, the puppet.

"Why don't you go spend some time at Tori's, she likes to pretend to tolerate you. You know, for my sake." Rex suggested. "Then, when I'm done, if there's time, I'll have you come pick me up." The puppet hoped Rob would stalk her again, further weakening his times with the most accepting and helpful of their friends. She'd been as much a threat to him as a help. Meanwhile, outside, the earthen man was walking around, slowly pushing things out of it's way. 'This is POWER!' Rex thought. Finally it was able to use Robbie's abilities.

"I suppose I could." Robbie said, feeling once again dejected. "But all they're talking about is that play Sikowitz is putting on. You know, the one we're helping out with, next Friday?"

"Yea, that." Rex said. "Run along now, Rob, I'll be fine. Just, you know, don't do anything stupid."

"Fine." Robbie said, and he walked out of the house. It took Rex's will to avoid having the large earth man smash him down and bury him. But Rex concentrated on that weak ling between them, the one that had been growing for years now, and he felt as the power slowly faded.

First the earthen man started to crumble, letting Rex know Rob's power weakened with range, instead of shutting off. Robbie was maybe fifty feat away when the earth man started to crumble, one hundred feet if he counted the distance from him to rob to Rex to the figure figure. The figure got smaller and smaller, until it was maybe fifty pounds, and Robbie was over five hundred feet away. Thats when Rex couldn't control it and himself any more. The puppet let his puppet go, and concentrated on moving around the room. Soon Robbie was over two miles away, and Rex understood that now, after the last increase in power, he could stay animated as far away as three miles. "It's a start, Rob. I look forward to the day I find a way to rid myself of you. But for now, I need you. However, we do have power, the kind of power that can conquer a small country. Maybe we should go to Yerba this summer." Rex powers laughed, as deep inside Robbie, Gunther screamed to be let out.

But it was useless. Robbie had been tricked into developing the dark side of his powers, the evil spirit that was now Rex. Gunther, the good spirit, had never had a chance. Without Murray knowing what he was doing, they'd botched Robbie's training, and gave life and power to the dark spirit. That was going to lead to trouble, in the long run. But Gunther had a name now, thanks to the second threat to Rex's life, and the starting of a very kind, helpful personality. Snagging onto the good in the boy, the part nurtured by Tori and Cat and sometimes Beck, it marshaled it's power and started to grow. Now sure of it's mission, and it's enemy, the spirit now called Gunther waited until it could strike.

Rex, however, had a mission, a girl to visit. Amanda Sanders had made fun of him yesterday, just him, and Rex wanted to get back at her. She wasn't one of Robs friends, so it was safer then trying to get back at Tori, or Cat. And the last thing it wanted was to challenge Jade. Not until it was sure it could destroy her. 'Or enslave her. Yea, make her part of my harem.' The puppet planned.

The first thing Rex did was check on line, see if there was any way to drug the girl. He had mobility, but was weak. If she fought back, he'd lose. While on line, he noted that Robbie's uncle, from his mothers side, had been involved with a dig, trying to find the lost sight of the temple that King Solomon had supposedly built. He'd included pictures. 'Wait, let me see, that clay there, I think it's from the old golem's body. I wonder, if I make a crown out of that clay, write the Hebrew symbols for life on the inside, would that make me stronger? Give me, and Rob, more power? We'll have to see.' Rex sent a quick email from Rob's account, asking if he could come visit during their semester break. Once that was done, the spirit was confident it would be able to convince Robbie to go visit his uncle in Israel, and maybe steal that artifact. 'Lost to do, lost to do.'

After that, the puppet logged onto a web-sight on the shadow net, and found out how much it would cost to get something to knock Amanda out. Using the small amount of cash it had gathered from Rob, the puppet made the purchase, and arranged for a drop exchange. Then it waited for Robbie to get home, so it knew where he would be. The girl lived withing two miles of Rob, so she was within range. Once Robbie had fallen asleep, Rex slipped out of bed and out of the duplex, sneaking off to find it's prey. 'It time I felt alive' the puppet thought as he stalked into the night.

The next day, Amanda was found in her room, dead. There was no clue who'd done it. Her parents had been out for the night, taking her siblings to visit a friend. Amanda had stayed to finish some homework, because Hollywood Arts was the kind of school a lot of kids would do anything to stay at. Unfortunate, that left her vulnerable, and someone took advantage. Someone who knew her schedule, and was able to get around the security system her parents had installed. Someone who could avoid the pressure sensors, wouldn't set of the IR sensors, and maybe was small enough to be mistaken for a cat by the motion sensors. Someone who knew how to pick the lock to her window, and climbed in to her room, all while she was distracted by her project.

The police knew that Amanda was drugged by something slipped into her coke. Then, while helpless and vaguely aware of what was happening, she was sexually molested. There was evidence of penetration, and who knows what else happened. But whomever did it left no DNA, no evidence beyond some odd paint chips. Finally, done with the girl, whomever did it grabbed her pillow, and taking advantage of her weakened state, smothered her. It was all they were talking about at school for two days. Sadly, the police found no leads.

And Robbie, he wouldn't know any more then the others in his class. He had other things to think about, like the email he got from his uncle, agreeing to have Robbie visit him. Saying how it was time for Rob to visit the holy lands, and maybe see some heritage. Robbie would have to pull out his passport, and make flight arrangements, all while Rex laughed at the demise of the girl. He'd gotten away with it, and fore the first time in a long time, he felt powerful.

And Gunther swore that, one day, he'd set Robbie free from this murderous monster.

:}

Thats it. I hope you enjoyed this background. I'm sure Rex will bring something unique to the story. But thats for another chapter. I personally, was amazed at how dark Rex got, but that pales to the appearance of Gunther.

There was another hint about Jade in this story, but it is probably confusing to you now. I'll explain that at the end of the next chapter... Jade. See you next time.

And oh yea, Review please.


	4. Chapter 4 Jade's story

Disclaimer: I don't own Jade, Victorious, or any of the other character from that show. Neither do I own any Marvel characters. As for the others, I kinda borrowed some of them from the sands of time, and can't properly claim ownership of them either, no matter how much I modified them. The rest are mine.

Warning, this chapter is a monster. Feel free to take a break somewhere as you get tired.

~~~Eleven years ago~~~

Six year old Jade walked across the living room in the small apartment she shared with her mother. It was another wonderful day. School was out and she didn't have that much homework to do, so it was time to play. Of course, her mother had her spend some time each day with that funny game system, the one she'd been told her brother got for her. It was fun, but often left her confused, sometimes even made her muscles ache, all from playing it. "Can Tonya come over and play?" She asked her mother. Tonya was so imaginative, making up voices for her stuffed ponies, and having them play too. Jade wanted to be like her.

"Maybe tomorrow." Her mother, Ann West, replied. "Today we're expecting a special visitor."

Jade was a friendly enough child, but around adults she didn't know she could be very shy. It meant she tended to stay close to her mother when they went out somewhere. And Ann was a protective enough mother. However, at times, she seemed more interested in finding her latest boyfriend, not that Jade would understand that for years to come. But weather she understood the reasons or not, the small girl felt very lonely when her mother neglected her like that. As a result, Jade often worried that she'd be forgotten. Again.

"Whats up, little girl." The voice was close, already inside the house, coming from the couch. Jade just smiled, recognizing the visitor. A tall man with dark hair worn to his shoulders and piecing green eyes was looking at her.

"Nari!" She screamed, rushing to where he was sitting. She hesitated, worried that it might be another projection.

"Good to see you too, little sorceress." The man said, reaching out to take her hand. He gently hugged her, then said "I see you still have the ring I gave you. Keep wearing it, on a string, as a necklace, until you're old enough to wear it as a ring, okay?" He asked as he ran his finger over the ring. It looked silver, but the metal was far stronger, with a complicated pattern etched into the inside of the ring.

Jade nodded, happy about this gift, despite her mother making sure she wore it all the time. "Always, to remind me that someone loves me."

"Good girl." He said, then asked "So how's school?"

"Schools fun." The girl said. "But they say I won't be able to play as long as the others."

"Why's that?" He asked. A warm smile crossed his face as he regarded the girl.

"Nari?" The question broke the conversation. The man looked over to see Ann West standing near the kitchen, holding a drink.

"Mom, you shouldn't drink so much." He said, standing to go hug his mother. His sister watched them. It was always like this. His visits were often fun, but their mother seemed to react to them with worry, as if somehow the friendly boy could be some kind of trouble. "Especially in front of Jade. And is this meed?" his voice raised threateningly at the end.

"You don't get to judge me." Ann shot back. "He has the right to know his daughter."

"After everything I did to protect her, and you, from him, and you go ahead and tell him where you are? Are you out of your mind? Am I going to have to move you again?" Nari almost screamed. His stance, open and friendly just a second ago, was guarded now.

Jade could see that Nari was angry, and it confused her. 'He just my daddy. Doesn't big brother want me to know my daddy?' She thought. Her brother and mother had progressed to a hushed but heated conversation when she heard the door open. 'I thought it was locked.' passed through Jade's mind as she moved the short distance to see who'd just entered.

It was her father, smiling like he always did when he came to visit. "Jade, is that your brother I hear?" He asked, as his smile grew even bigger. "My my my, the whole family is here today. This is a surprise."

Jade rushed to hug her father, only to find him stiffen. He never was one for displays of affection. Her mother once said that her grandfather, his father, did that to him. Made a man who could be so passionate, into someone so cold and distant. Still, Jade needed for her dad to know just how glad she was to see him. It was as rare as seeing her brother. In fact, she couldn't recall ever seeing the two of them together, at the same time. And both in the flesh.

"Nari." Her father said, addressing the younger man. To the uninitiated, they'd look close to the same age. Only someone in the know would understand this was a father and his adult son, talking face to face.

"Father." Nari replied. "So, how long have you known?"

"Her whole life." The father said. "I'm not like my father. I don't neglect my children." There was a defensiveness in his words. Jade shifted under the tension that now dominated the room.

"You just carelessly put them in danger." Nari snapped back. "Or use them in one of your plots. What have you got planned for her?"

"For now, that she have a happy childhood. Your grandmother said she agreed with your plan, and that Jade should stay here, hidden from the extended family. But she hasn't tried to forbid me from visiting." Her father said, gesturing around. "Of course, if she's going to continue to live in this primitive backwater, the least we can do is provide something better for her."

"I'm a princess." Jade said, trying to break the tension. The two most important men in her life didn't seem to like each other too much. Even at six, she could tell there was something between them. Something that happened before she was old enough to understand, probably before she was born.

"Yes you are, my little Jade." Her father said, reaching down to pick her up. "Yes you are." The tension was temporarily broken, and Jade got to enjoy her father's attention.

~~~Seven years ago~~~

"That was very good." Grandmother said. Jade smiled, feeling proud of herself. Grandma had been trying to teach her stuff for a while now. "Now relax. We've covered a lot today, and you've earned yourself a tea party."

They were in Jade's room, looking out on the nice back yard to the house she currently lived in. Jade had discovered how much she loved playing in that yard, climbing the tree, and in general having fun. Of course, school had gotten harder. Despite her mother wanting her to have as normal a childhood as possible, Jade was in a gifted program. The girl, like her brother, was smart. 'So much like their father...' The grandmother thought.

"I don't do tea parties any more." Jade snapped. The girl had recently taken a fascination with death. Her mother had insisted it was her stepfathers fault. The man liked his horror films. "Lets find a vampire and get sired."

"I have no idea what that could mean." The older woman said. She didn't look that old, maybe in her forties. Jade was beginning to suspect that her entire family aged well. "I'm sure I don't want to be sired." Of course, she couldn't fault the poor man's attempt to get closer to his step daughter. And one thing this grandmother could count on was that her granddaughters stepfather would only have the most honorable of intentions. Jade's brother was intimidating enough at the best of times. She couldn't imagine the conversation the two men had had.

"It means they make us vampires." Jade explained. "We'd live off of blood, feeding on the living. We'd live forever." Jade smiled, a strange joy on the girls face.

"Ten year old's don't get to talk about forever." The old woman said, trying not to sound too harsh. "I've lived a lot longer then you, and trust me, when the time comes, I will face death with stoicism and pride." She still smiled at the precociousness of the girl.

"But I don't want you to die." Jade protested. Panic edged her voice, and the little girl who didn't like to be touched tried to hug her granddaughter. But this was a projection, not the real thing.

"Everything dies." The grandmother said. "But I'm not going anywhere. Not for a long time. I want to see you holding your own children. Now, what kind of tea are we having?" The motherly woman decided to focus back on having fun.

"You're having a nice white and black tea blend." Jade said, pretending to pour the tea in her cup. "I'm having red tea."

"Red?" The old woman asked.

"You know, blood?" Jade said.

"I must ask your father what kind of children he keeps raising." The older woman said. But she smiled and pretended to drink the tea. "So who's this 'Buffy' I keep hearing about?" She watched her granddaughter start to explain, but really she was just humoring the dark child. 'They grow up so fast.' she thought.

~~~Five years ago~~~

Jade hated sweating. She worked hard not to, controlling her body with all her considerable will. But there were times when even she couldn't prevent it, like now. Her opponent circled, looking for an opening. Perfect, never making a mistake unless forced, the opponent raised it's hand again, faking a strike only to launch a kick. Jade knew that she shouldn't watch the arm, that the face, the eyes, would tell her where the blow was going to land, but that only worked if you could see the eyes. Jade had to read the entire body to see what was coming.

Her hands moved, not so much blocking as redirecting the kick past her, then she launched her own strike. Her opponent knew it was coming, she wasn't that good at hiding her intentions. So she tried brute force to push past her opponents defenses. Naturally, when up against someone who doesn't make mistakes, that much anger led to her fall.

"You know, a sweep of the legs would have given you the same results, and maybe left him on the ground too." Nari said. Jade looked around, then down next to her towel where she'd left her phone. Her new phone. And there was his face, smiling at her, only to be replaced as he sent a projection out.

"It's a her." Jade said, placing the game on hold. The game was a newer version of one of the games he'd given her for each new phone or game system she'd gotten for the last four years. "So, did you hack my phone?"

"Always." He replied. "I missed you. I'm on a job, and just wanted to say hi." His warmth belied the projection, or the intrusion on her privacy.

"Some people let the phone ring." Jade said, letting her brother know she didn't appreciate the invasion of her privacy.

"But this game's multi-player. I just logged in, and presto, here I am." He smiled again as he explained.

"Of course. You gave me the game. And I suppose you could do better?" She asked. An image of the same foe appeared near by, anther projection. He launched a quick sweep of the legs, and when it jumped, he shifted his move into an upward kick. The blow was partially deflected, but not enough to prevent the opponents balance shifting. Nari popped up, grabbing the now off balance opponent in the air and turning the fall into a throw. "I just asked. You didn't need to show me." Jade huffed.

"I've been doing this a little longer then you have." Her brother said. "Next time we're together, I'd love to see just how far you've come."

"And when's that?" She asked, trying not to get excited. Jade knew her brothers work schedule was chaotic. It seemed he was working all over the place, sometimes in such far off locations he couldn't even describe them. He was as bad as their father.

"Soon." He said, trying to sooth his sister. "Keep practicing, and you'll master this game, just like the last one I sent you."

Jade nodded, and turned her attention to her opponent, who'd been waiting patiently for this whole time. A new look of determination crossed her face as she tried the same moves her brother had just done... except she wasn't as quick as he was when shifting her momentum. Swearing, the twelve year old got up slowly and prepared to try again.

~~~Four years ago~~~

"Cat, pay attention." Jade snapped. "My father and brother aren't together very often. This has to be perfect."

Cat blinked, looking at her friend. They'd known each other since Jade first moved to California four years ago. They'd been neighbors, briefly, before Jade's stepfather married her mother, and they moved into his home. It was a nice enough place, with a decent amount of room. But to Cat, none of that mattered. What mattered was that she and Jade were going to perform a play together. 'It's like make believe for adults.' Cat reasoned.

"Now, when the vampire, thats me, pops out and attacks the girl, thats you, I need you to make it believable. No giggling." Jade said.

"Then tell Adam not to make me laugh." Cat protested. As much as she wanted to, Jade couldn't hold that against her. Her brother, who was going by Adam now, was uncomfortably funny. He'd always been a charmer. It seemed that the only person he didn't get along with was their father. Jade got that. Her dad had taken to keeping his distance from her as well.

'He tries, but he can be so judgmental.' She thought. 'Maybe this will help them relax and enjoy spending time with me.' Jade so desperately wanted her fathers approval. Ever since they moved to California, it seemed that she hardly ever did anything right. She hoped that this play would give them something to talk about. But that meant Cat had to hit her marks. 'I know she can do it. We go to Hollywood Arts middle school together, and it's a preforming arts school."

"Okay, Cat, relax. Maybe we can just sing them a song..." Jade suggested.

Twenty hours later, Jade would almost give up on her dreams of being an actress. Her father had been very judgmental, questioning the wisdom of her attending that school, or of her trying to sing, or act, or whatever. Naturally, he and Adam got into a shouting match, and things went down hill. So now she was left with only her best friend to comfort her.

"You know what we need?" Cat said. "We need boyfriends. Then we'd have someone who'd believe in us, no matter what."

"And how do we get boyfriend?" Jade asked.

"I was hoping your know..." Cat said. "You're usually the one who does things first. First to audition for Hollywood Arts. First to climb the rope in PE." Cat looked down at herself, and then said more softly "First to develop."

"Okay, I'll get a boyfriend." Jade smiled to herself. 'Maybe dad would approve if I won the hardest prize to get.' Then she asked her friend "So Cat, who's the hottest boy at school?"

"I heard that Beck Oliver is the hottest." Cat replied. "But you'll never get him. Everyone wants him. I mean, how do you get a boy like thats attention?"

"By being direct." Jade replied.

~~~Last year.~~~

Jade was looking out the window, trying to calm down. Her phone rang again, and she almost threw it. Instead, she checked who it was. Beck. 'Great. I don't need this...' She thought as she hit the answer button. He wasn't going to let her ignore him. Jade knew he'd either come by to check on her, or talk someone else into. Jade rally didn't need Tori dropping by. Not at a time like this.

"What?" She asked, clearly irritated.

"And a very pleasant hello to you too." Beck replied.

"This isn't a good time." Jade snapped.

"It's never a good time for you." He shot back. "Sorry, it's just, you've been so moody lately. We're back together. I thought that maybe, just maybe, you'd let me in."

"How?" Jade asked. "I've told you everything..."

"Really?" Beck shot back. "Then why can't I think of a single reason you've shut me out?"

"It's complicated." Jade tried.

"Complicated?" Beck shot back. "Tell me how it's complicated. If you can't tell me what's bothering you, then give me what you can. I'm trying to be your boyfriend. Boyfriends help their girlfriends."

"Like you help Tori?" Jade asked.

"There's nothing between me and Tori." Beck repeated.

"For once, thats not what I mean." Jade said. She was too upset to be sarcastic. She took a deep breath. "There are some problems you can't solve."

"Like?" Beck pushed.

"Like mine." Jade said.

"Jade, this is bothering you." Beck pointed out. "More then normal. Do you want me to call Cat? See if she can come over?"

"Cat would be useless in this situation." Jade said, almost as much to herself as her boyfriend.

"Then Tori..." Beck started.

"NO!" Jade cut him off. "Not Vega. Not now, not ever." Jade forced herself to take another breath. "Look, Beck, I know you want to make things better. But this isn't something you can help me out with."

"How would you know?" Beck said, just a touch angry. "It's not like you let me try. C'mon, Jade, let me in. Tell me whats bothering you. Maybe if you talk about it, even a tiny bit, it'll help."

"No!" Jade said flatly.

"I'm coming over." Beck announced.

"Beck, no!" But it was too late. The phone was dead. Jade paced in her room, debating with herself. She looked at her phone. The one she never threw, because she couldn't afford to. The one with the special transceiver in it.

Jade's hand unconsciously went to her special ring. She fingered the ring, the one she wore on the chain around her neck. The one her brother had given her. The one she was never far away from. Jade rolled that ring in her hand as she debated her next move. "Fuck it." She said as she opened her contacts and hit the button marked "Dad"

The phone rang, and rang, until his voice mail picked it up. Just like it had the last fifty times she'd called. She didn't leave a message. Instead, she called her grandmother, trying to get through. But like her father before her, the phone rang and rang, until she was shunted to voice mail. "Gran, it's Jade. Please call me. I need to know you're all right. I saw what happened in London, on the news. Please tell me that whatever it was, it didn't come anywhere near you."

Jade hung up, feeling defeated. She'd tried everything to get in contact with her grandmother, or her father. But after what she'd seen, with Thor fighting that giant black ship, she was worried for her family. Somehow she'd had a bad feeling ever since she'd seen the story. Clearing her mind, the way she'd been taught, Jade tried once again to pierce the veil and touch her grandmothers mind.

"She's dead." The voice startled her, causing her to jump and reach for her hidden pair of scissors. But a moment later she was back in control, by then recognizing the voice. Jade looked over her shoulder to see her brother standing there. "I'm sorry to be the one to tell you. I..." He couldn't form words.

"Nari...?" She said, trying to process what happened. 'How'd he find me...?' She wondered. "How..?"

"The dark elves. The slew Frigg, Gran, and then dad died seeking revenge. They say he died a hero, fighting beside our uncle." Her brother, Nari Lokison, informed her.

Jade fell into tears. Her brother didn't move to hold her, confirming what she thought. 'Just a projected image.' Jade didn't allow herself to think beyond that, letting her grief at their loss consume her. 'I'll never speak to Gran again? Or win dad's approval? I'll never...' The pain burned her soul, causing her to drop to the floor.

"Jade, drop the ring, let me find you, and I can take you away from this place." Nari said. "With Gran gone, you need someone to teach you..." Since her family had moved a couple of years ago, partially to avoid her father trying to use her for some scheme, only her grandmother had known where she was. Then, after the whole New york disaster, they'd made staying out of her fathers sight a priority.

"NO!" Her voice shook the home. The anger and fury was palatable. "I have the training computer Gran sent me, I can learn fine without you."

"The computer I built?" Nari asked. "I'm the technomancer, remember. I built it, like I built the one before. Gran, as much as I loved her, was as hopeless at building or maintaining stuff as the rest of them."

"And what?" Jade seethed. "You want credit? Gran's dead. Dad's dead. And no one thought to tell me."

"I only found out a little while ago." Nari's voice was distant, hurt. But he was a lot older then Jade, and far better at dealing with his pain. When your father is so intent on winning his fathers love that he forgets his own children, you learn to adapt.

"Nari..." She squeaked.

"I'm not alone, Jade." He said. "I have friends. They look out for me. I can help you, if you let me. It's time to drop this mortal guise and come home."

"They ended your exile?" Jade asked.

"No, but they will." Her brother said. "Uncle has abdicated the throne. I'm next in line."

"And then me." Jade said, starting to suspect something. "So, are you telling me this because you're afraid they'd never put an exile like you on the golden throne?"

"No." He said, his voice low. Jade could never read him, but she knew there was more to his story then he was letting on. It was his idea to hide her, give her as normal an upbringing as possible before introducing her to Asguardian culture.

"The other possibility is you're hoping to use me as regent or something. To watch the throne until you get bored of gallivanting around the universe." Jade said, softly. "So, if you don't know where I am, then how'd you find me?"

"You reached out." Her brother said. "I just tuned in to your frequency. You're getting better. In no time, you'll be able to initiate contact all on your own. Let me help teach you sorcery."

"You're as good as gran?" Jade asked. She was a bit surprised.

"No." He replied. "Dad was, but he's gone. I could find you someone... Maybe..."

"Give me a way to contact you on the phone." Jade said. "When I'm ready, I'll give you a call."

"Jade..." He said. But he sent her the information, where she could pick up the code that would let her modified cell phone contact him. 'One of these days, I'll find out why she insisted it look like fruit.' He thought. "Jade, when your ready. Please, you're hurting. Let me help."

Jade smiled, despite the pain she was feeling. All the plotting and scheming he'd learned from their father, and now he was just like her, reaching out for whatever family he had left to find some comfort. "Nar, I need to go now. I have to... I don't know. Just, go. I'll call when I'm ready." She looked in the cold green eyes of her brother, and felt the love. "Just, let me arrange contact. And Nar."

"Yes?" He said. She could tell his heart was hurting too.

"I love you. I just, you know, I have a life here." Jade finished.

"I've told them about you." Nari said. "Out of love, I've told grandfather. When you're ready just remove the ring, get away from it, and call out for Heimdall. He'll open the portal for you. Or call me, and I'll do it."

"Thanks." Jade said. "For respecting me enough to tell me, and for giving me the choice. And please, take care of yourself."

Nari felt the connection lessening. He knew, once Jade realized she was doing it, that she'd figure out she could sever the connection as well. But he wasn't done yet. He hadn't been able to get around the sorcery he'd placed in her ring. The same spells that would protect her from Heimdalls sight. He'd almost gotten to the point where he could get a house number, or some visual clue to find her. Instead he saw Beck, the boy she'd been dating, walking up the path to her front door. Using the last of his fading connection to this world, Nari Lokison reached out and opened the door.

Beck walked in to find Jade crying in her room. "Jade, are you okay?" He asked. He knew it was a stupid question, but when dealing with people who are hurting you sometimes need something to open the conversation. Jade may well glare at him, but it would allow her to acknowledge his presence.

Instead of the glare, Jade stood up and rushed into his arms. "She's gone." Jade said. "My grandmothers gone."

"What happened?" Beck asked. "Wait, you can tell me later. Does your mother know?"

"I just found out..." Jade said, allowing her pain to overcome her. Real tears of loss rained from her, threatening to wash away everything else.

"Jade, please..." Beck said. "Look, I'll take care of telling her, when she gets home. Just let me hold you. It won't make things better, but maybe tonight I can be strong for you, and you can feel safe to cry."

He held her, letting Jade cry out her pain. He just held her, letting her know it was okay to cry, and that he'd be there for her. "Just cry it out." He said.

~~~Six months ago~~~

Jade's mother Ann (Short for Angrboda, but almost no one around her knew that) was adjusting into their new home. Her current husband, Richard, was in the back yard of the house. Ann was impressed that this move turned out to be a good thing. She'd commented to Jade, more then once, that running from one's own son was a usually a bad thing. Nari, however, was the exception. She felt it safest to stay away from her and Loki's first child as long as possible. The boy had proven to be quite adaptable. Of course, she'd heard about the things he'd done, built, under his alias, Adam Warlock. His reputation was spread across half the known races in the galaxy. Some of it was very impressive. Other things gave even her nightmares.

It was one of the reasons she'd agreed with Frigga when the latter had suggested hiding Jade for a while. Jade deserved a relatively normal childhood, an almost impossibility given who her parents were. After all, how many people could she have met with a two hundred year age gap between siblings.

"Jade, get moving. You don't want to be late." Ann called out.

Jade rolled her eyes. It was a Friday. But by agreement, she had now started visiting with her fathers side of the family. She stopped to look out back at her step father and his son, her half brother Ritchard. A smile temporarily spread on her lips. Then she let go, and started walking to her car.

"Right. See you tomorrow, Mom." She called out. Once she was in her car, she drove out to the out of the way place where she'd be making the unsupervised visit. Jade wasn't crazy about the unsupervised part, but understood that someone skilled enough, like her brother, or grandfather, could potentially track her connection, despite the rune she still wore around her neck. No, far better to disguise her location, not give them anything more then the minimum. So she drove, and drove, over two hours, to San Diego. One there, she found the cheap hotel her mother had contacted, and walked to the office.

"Hi, Jade West." She said.

"That supposed to mean something to me?" The man working there said. He looked at her, and immediately she felt uncomfortable. His smile suggested he had ideas of what he'd like to know about her.

"I thought I'd reserved a room." Jade said. She understood this kind of place might not be organized enough to check their own reservations. 'I guess I won't shed a tear if this guy is ripped apart.' She decided. Not that her family was that cruel, but they had a lot of enemies who might. Also, the warriors of the golden realm weren't too good at prisoners. One of them trying to recover a princess might do who knows what.

"Oh, how fancy, a reservation." He said, looking behind the desk. "Here it is. I gave that room away already. You snooze, you lose." He mocked. "I could find you something, I suppose..." The pause wasn't reassuring. "If you did something for me."

Jade turned on her heals and walked out. She knew enough not to deal with this loser. "Wait, we have open rooms!" He called after her. Jade was already gone.

"Sorry creep." Jade called back. "You snooze, you lose. I saw a comfort inn a ways back. I think they cost about the same, and they provide breakfast."

Normally, Jade would have stayed in this place due to the flop house like nature of it. It was generally easier to get the room in a flop style house. Flop houses tended to not ask questions, and respect her privacy. But she didn't put up with creeps. Instead she finished the drive to the much more inviting establishment. Of course, she'd been worried about being molested on her way into and out of the other hotel, but she had learned how to extend the field of the rune ring she wore so that people she wasn't addressing wouldn't take a second look at her. Her car was in more danger, but now that she was putting that trashed hotel behind her, she didn't have to worry about it either.

Jade found the inn, and saw the vacancy sign. She walked in to the front desk, and prepared to bluff her way in. "Hi, I was driving home from visiting family, and I'm just not going to make it. My car needs an adjustment before I hit the highway again. Mechanic said they'd have the part tomorrow."

"Don't need your life's story." The man behind the desk said. "Just a major credit card."

"I'm seventeen." Jade informed him.

"I see." The clerk said. "Now I understand the explanation. Is there an adult we can contact? It's just, you have to sign a contract to stay, and until you're eighteen..."

"If I didn't open my mouth?" She asked.

"We still need to see a valid ID." He replied. "And we wouldn't be able to let you stay without a valid, legal signature on a contract. So, give me a someone I can call, and I'll see what I can do."

Jade sighed. That was the other reason for using the flop house. They take cash, and don't ask too many questions. 'Then again, I don't want to be incapacitated that long with a creeper like him around.' Jade decided. "Okay, try Ann Bodie at this number." Jade said. "She's my mother."

"Different last name I see." The clerk said as he dialed the number.

"She remarried." Jade said. Adding "Dad's dead."

"You have my condolences." The clerk replied before talking with Ann. He took her credit card number and ran it, checking her listed age. "Okay, if you just go to the websight, no mam, I know it sets a future date, but we need your signature, even if it's electronic... Thats right, just fill in the information and hit agree... And... YES! Thank you mam, I hope your daughter has a pleasant evening." He hung up the phone, and looked at Jade. "Here's the key, room two twenty nine. Your mother requested a room with as much privacy as possible. I can understand that... So just up the stairs and turn right. You should have no trouble finding it. Breakfast is from six to nine, in that room over there." He pointed. "Have a nice stay."

"Thanks." Jade replied. 'Damn it, I'm not too okay with him dying.' Jade thought to herself. But she was able to placate her guilt by reminding herself that he probably doesn't live here.

Once up the stairs and down the hall to her room, Jade was able to let herself in, put her suitcase on the holder, and get comfortable. She relaxed, letting her mind flow, and projecting it across space to the golden realm. Her image formed in the great hall. Odin was waiting, along with Thor. They both smiled as she started her next visit. Once per month, she'd make an excursion like this to visit them. They'd both expressed an interest in having her physically visit, but she wasn't ready for that yet.

The next morning Jade came out of her trance with an hour to spare before the breakfast buffet was over. She'd have another hour before checkout. 'Nar wasn't there, but maybe thats a good thing. And Thor inviting me to visit in new York? I know he's trying to help, but really...?' Jade told herself. She pulled out her phone, calling home. "Hi dad. Yea, it's done. I'll be home in a bit. Breakfast, then a hot shower, await. Tell mom I love her. Yea, see you soon. Bye." She smiled. That was the family that loved her, didn't see her as a dangerous freak. Stretching, she started the process of going home.

~~~Three weeks ago~~~

"Okay Cat, there's a reason your here." Jade said. "I have something to tell you, and I know it's gonna make me sound crazy, but I just need you to stop and listen. Okay?"

"Isn't that supposed to be my line?" Cat asked.

"Cat, please." Jade said, trying not to back out of this. "I think I might be having, I don't know, feelings for Vega." Jade exhaled, only to quickly add "Tori, not Trina. Gods, what would you be thinking of me if I said I was crushing on that talentless looser?"

"Pretty much the same thing I'm thinking now." Cat replied. "Look, Jade, if I didn't freak out when you told me about being Thor's niece, or that your mother was some kind of solidified energy being, then I'm not gonna freak out when you tell me you might be gay."

"I'm still amazed you believed me." Jade said, smiling at her best friend. 'It's a true mark of friendship when you need someone to believe you, and they give you a chance.' She thought, looking at Cat.

"Honestly, I didn't." cat said. "Not at first. But your my friend. I wanted to, and when you showed me the weird toys you have, I just thought wow, maybe she's telling the truth."

"Yea, but you do understand." Jade said. "I can't remove the ring and show you what I can do, cause I don't know what I can do. I've had a lot of training, sorcery and fighting and even some tech, but none of it can prepare me for actually having the powers, or strength."

"And your visits with your family, they've been going well?" Cat asked.

"I've been seeing my uncle and grandfather every month, and my brother a couple of time in there. For each visit, we've limited it to projections, kinda like skype, but with my mind. I really can't risk what might happen to you guys if they found me." Jade said.

"One thing I've been wondering about." Cat said.

"What?" Jade asked. She had to be wary. Cat could be talking about something that happened on a TV show last night, or she could have a question that would effect Jade's next move in this getting to know you game she was playing with her family.

"Adam knows about Beck, right?" Cat asked.

"Yea?" Jade said.

"He's also good with technology, right?" Cat continued.

"You think he knows where Beck lives?" Jade asked, now worried.

"I was just thinking he might have been following your breakup on the slap, but that tracks too." Cat said.

Jade's phone was in her hand, and she was calling her brother. "Jade, look, this isn't a good time. I'm kinda in the middle of something. Can I call you back?"

"Do you know where I am?" Jade asked.

"I've respected your privacy." Came the reply

"So you never used one of your gadgets to spy on me, or maybe find out what I've been up to?" Jade asked.

"Jade, please, we can talk about this later." Nari snapped. "Right now, I'm on break, but the Kree are expecting me to help repair this ship, and I can't be on the phone in a secure facility. So please, let's sort this out later. Okay?"

"Okay." Jade said. "Bye, I love you."

"I love you too, baby girl." He said, and then the line went dead.

"Okay, he was busy." Jade informed her friend.

"And he so knows where you are." Cat added. "I mean, lets think about it. He built you a phone that can get reception anywhere, lets you speak to hims across the Galaxy, and has unlimited texting. The man can do anything."

"Yea, I just wish I'd have brought this phone when we were trapped in Beck's RV." Jade joked.

"Or you could have removed that ring, and maybe opened the door." Cat replied.

"That RV must have weighted ten tons." Jade said, glaring at her friend.

"And your mother said your brother could have knocked that rig a dozen yards." Cat said. "What, I talked to her. I'm friendly, and you let me in on the family secret. I'm already enjoying watching what your brother Richie, the half human one, can do. Did you know he can fly?"

"Adam can fly." Jade replied.

"All your mom's kids can fly." Cat chirped in. "Now listen up. You're gonna talk to your family, and we're gonna see about visiting them over semester break. You hear me?" cat said.

"We're?" Jade asked back.

"Sam's going to Seattle to visit her mother and sister." Cat said. "No babysitting that week. I just figured, it'd be nice to have a friend along. Why don't you make the call, and we can see about a nice vacation."

"Okay, I'll call." Jade said. "Cat, you know you'll be the weakest thing there."

"I'm not planning on getting into a fight." Cat said, as if that was the answer. "And once your past that, we can tackle this crush you have on Tori."

Jade smiled. 'It's nice to know I'm one of the few people she cannot keep a secret from.' Jade thought. 'Or that if she did tell, no one would believe her.' Then to Cat, "Okay, we head out right after Sikowitz's play." Jade said.

Cat, meanwhile, was thinking 'I just hope they don't hurt her. Adam would be so wazzed.'

~~~Three minuts ago~~~

"Curtains up in three minutes" Sikowitz called to the cast and crew. It was going to be a crazy night at the Harrison theater.

:}

Explanation time. Jade's family includes the Asgardians, who despite the best efforts of marvels movies, have to have some heavy mysticism in them with the weapons they use and the abilities some of them have. Not to mention what Thor did in "Age of Ulton." It's also possible her mother has some mystic capacities. Lets not even bring up how Odin was able to make Thor human for a while way back in Thor.

Speaking of her mother, with the Retcon of Thano's, I had to comer up with my own version of the Eternals, one of Marvels more amusing racial creations. Jade, like her brother, is a hybred with the best of both worlds. She can fly, project her energy enhance life force as bolts of power, and learn to do all kinds of other things with that power.

As for her fighting, as you can see she's had fight simulators, using advanced technology, for a long time. After all, as you recall, Thor was able to take out multiple S.H.I.E.L.D. agents while trying to recover his hammer, to the extent that Coulson commented his level of training. Thats why she could fight when she and Andre faced off. And since the Asgardians are warriors, she was taught to fight to win. She wasn't good enough to have been taught to take an opponent alive, something that requires more skill.

Lost of explanation, but this needed it. One other note, I had Nari take on the name Adam Warlock because in marvel, the Adam Warlock was an essential enemy of Thanos. This added just a taste of continuity to the story, even if the two characters are so very different.

Also, I wrote this first. It was my first idea of a crossover. All the others came from trying to make Jade's bloodline work. So... Review?


	5. Chapter 5 Cat's story

Disclaimer: Victorious doesn't belong to me. I just borrowed the characters and imagined "What if?"

:}

Cat remembered the play she helped Jade put on for her family, so long ago. By that time age the petite girl was no stranger to either of these male figures in her best friends life, but even she could tell how weird it was to have the two of them in the same room together. And the tension...

The present came rushing back as the bus driver told her they'd arrived at the docks. She nodded to him and got off through the rear doors. It took three buses to get there, all usually at night, so it didn't quite feel safe. Still, she'd done it, four to five times a year for the last four years. Back when it started, she didn't actually take the bus. He'd meet her someplace neutral, somewhere where she could get to easily, and hopefully he wouldn't know where she'd come from. A fools errand. Up until recently, when she moved in with her Nona, she lived with her parents, in the same house she'd always lived in. But Cat had insisted they change how they met back when she became old enough to understand how much he could be using her.

She walked, almost unafraid, to the front gate. Waving at the bored security guard, a guard who didn't even look up to acknowledge she was there, she moved past the locked gate in the chain link fence to where she'd long ago found a hole she could still squeeze through. A momentary flicker in her camouflage field was the only warning that she'd slipped past the fence into what was supposed to be international territory, the old northers docks extension.

Cat loved the camouflage field, even if she wasn't supposed to use it except for coming here. It allowed her to blend in, seem to be nothing, or someone who belonged if she was somewhere where being ran into might give away her position. She'd used it, more then once, to sneak into the boys bathroom. Just for the thrill of being in there, cause it could be kinda gross. There were other places too, including the bibble store. That was, until he'd put a limiter on it. No more bibble for Cat.

The redhead looked at the old warehouse she was heading towards, and once again remembered how she'd come to be here the first time. The evening of the play, four years ago. She'd been on her way out, trying to get away from the tension. Jade's father had been less then supportive, and while Adam was his usual nice self, he'd risen quickly to defend Jade's choices. Cat had stayed as long as she could, but in the end had to get away from the stress and fighting. Not being able to do anything about the yelling, the tension and the feeling of impending violence sometimes made her faint. It was better to go.

(Flashback)

" _You okay, little one?" Adam asked. She didn't recall him following her. But he was sneaky, that one. Cat liked him anyways. She turned to look at Jade's brother, mustering her best smile._

" _Hii Jade's brother." She chirped. "What're you doing so far from..." a moment of confusion crossed her face. "Why is Jade alone?"_

" _She's not." The older boy said. "Mom is with her. But dad and I, we were asked to leave..." He knelt down in front of the girl, who'd only recently started dying her hair red. "And I know Jade wouldn't forgive me if I let anything happen to her best friend."_

 _Cat giggled. It was her nature. Adam was an adult, and he treated her like an equal. "I wish my brother was like you." She told him._

" _No you don't." Adam said, smiling that charming smile of his. "I have my dark side. I've done bad things, almost as bad as my father, in the name of king and country. Scorched the land and burnt the sea..." A forlorn look crossed his handsome face, but the smile returned again. "Maybe we should be walking."_

" _Where too?" Cat asked._

" _Your home, I suppose." He said, standing and offering his hand. "Thats where you were going, right?"_

" _Actually, I'm supposed to be on a sleepover with Jade." Cat admitted. "I just needed..." She looked into the distance, down the street towards where Jade's home was, and a shudder flowed through her._

" _I understand." Adam said. "My issues with my father, they're... complicated. But it was wrong of me to drive you from your bed like that. Come, I'll take you back."_

" _Won't you get in trouble?" Cat asked._

" _Immense." He said. "But this way, I can ask a favor of you." This time, when he hesitated, it was an invitation. One the small girl leaped at._

" _What do you need?" Cat asked._

" _I move around a lot for work, and I need someone to keep an eye on Jade for me." He explained. "Make sure she's all right."_

" _And if she's not?" the petite girl asked._

" _I'll rush back here as quickly as I can to help out." Adam assured her. "It just might take some time. I travel, a lot." He emphasized the last two words._

" _So what'd you want me to do?" Cat asked._

" _Stay close, and keep an eye on her." He said. "Does she protect you? In school?"_

" _Yea?" Cat was curious where he was going._

" _That means she'll be around you for a while. I'll give you something for your phone, a plug in. With it, you can call me and let me know whats going on." He told the girl._

 _Cat felt the guilt eating at her. "Sometimes I wish I could help her." She said. "But I'm little. I'll always be little."_

" _Little doesn't have to equal weak." Jade's brother said. "Would you like to be strong? Maybe help Jade? As she gets older, her heritage will kick in, and that will isolate her even more. Maybe you could help her with that too." He'd stopped walking._

" _What'd I have to do?" Cat asked._

" _It's too much." Adam said, shaking his head. "Besides, you'd have to trust me, a whole lot, to agree to this. Better I give you some gadgets I've made, and you keep an eye on Jade for me."_

" _No, I trust you." Cat protested. This was Adam, Jade's older brother. She'd known him for four years. He couldn't hurt a fly. ''What was that comment about burning the seas?'_

" _Then I'd like to show you something special." He said. "But you have to promise me you won't tell Jade. Or our mother. Not until Jade's ready."_

" _Why not?" Cat asked._

" _You're her secret guardian." Adam explained. "She cannot know until she's ready. Then, you'll be there for her when the wold changes and she needs a friend. Also, we will come to a point where you won't be able to back out. Ill call, and you will need to meet me. Can you agree to that?"_

 _Cat could tell the enormity of what he was asking, but wasn't about to let Adam think she didn't trust him. "I do." She said. "Lets do this."_

" _Okay, then let's shake on it." He held out his hand. "Like adults." Cat took his hand and shook it once. "And Cat, the next time someone asks you to go someplace secretly with them, I hope you think twice about it. There are some nasty people out there." He pulled her through a hole that opened in the air, and into a large, open warehouse. "Stay here, I need to get some stuff. You should be safe enough." Then he was gone again._

Cat had walked on autopilot to the warehouse, thinking again at how little it had changed in four years. It was one of the smaller warehouses in this area, but still was far too big for the amount of space that was being used. For a moment, she felt nervous, exposed, naked, as she disengaged the camouflage field. The dock weren't the safes of places in the best of times. These warehouses were older designs, from an old extension to the north of the main docks. All kinds of disreputable people, people working on ships who wouldn't be allowed to get past the gates and into the country, could be hanging around, looking for a girl to molest. It wasn't as bad as it probably was a hundred years ago, but still, it was hardly the kind of place a good girl should be traveling too alone. Especially at night.

"Does it worry you nearly as much as it does me," A voice startled her, "How easy it is to get past security?" She'd been doing this forever, but he was right. They never seemed to improve security out there, along the fence. Her hole, it wasn't disguised very well, and they never did anything about it. Not in the years since she'd first found it. Still...

"Well," Cat replied, secure in who it was even before he fully revealed himself. "These aren't the main docks. Those are further south."

"And yet, you could smuggle all kinds of things in through here." The voice was now a familiar figure. Cat smiled, for a moment, at how little he seemed to change. "How's Jade?"

"We agreed that you wouldn't ask about her." The petite redhead snapped. "Oh wait, did we agree you wouldn't ask?"

"We agreed that I would neither follow you, nor ask where she was." Adam said. She could clearly see him now. She took that moment to drink him in, marveling at how much he seemed to look like Jade, and how much he didn't. He was tall, over six two, and had jet black hair and piercing green eyes. Over the years of coming here, Cat had seen him dressed in a variety of things, but today was in what was his most common outfit, some kind of armored bodysuit in green and blue. "Just like you agreed to keep an eye on her, be there for her if things got bad."

"I'll be there." Cat snapped. "But is this really necessary? Couldn't you just build me a device like the ones I've been using?" So close to t he end, she was having second thoughts. Of course, she knew it wasn't possible. They'd passed the point of no return years ago.

"And waste the nearly four years of work we've put into this?" He asked, smiling that warm, caring smile of his. Then he got more serious. "Ignoring the limits of those devices, the big problem is they could just be taken away. No, if I'm going to give you the ability to help protect my sister, it has to be intrinsic. Something that no one will ever be able to take away from you. Besides, I like what we've been doing. It's based on a mix of Skrull and Kree technology, but I've introduced my own power supply, and shaken up the energy relay matrix. Once we're done, you'll have a nice mix of abilities to help protect her."

"I'm more of a small child babysitter." Cat protested. She'd tried that before, but he always managed to convince her this was for the best. She realized, years ago that he wasn't going to molest her, but what he was doing was probably far more invasive. But the doubts came back, again and again, over the years.

"And we agreed, given all the peoples who might want to use or hurt her, Jade needs someone to look after her. At least until she learns to take care of herself." The man said. "There are things a pair of scissors won't stop."

"But a concussive force pulse, enough force to rupture metal, will go a long way towards protecting her." The Asgardian added. "Cat, I know you won't always be there for her, just like I can't always be there. But this will make me feel better, knowing you're near by, and have the ability to save her if things get nasty." It was a variant of the arguments he'd given over the years. "Besides, sometimes even the best of us needs a babysitter."

"But you're making me a freak." Cat groaned. It had been an ongoing struggle for her, rationalizing what he'd been doing. The changes he'd been making to her body.

"I'm making you a cyborg." Adam corrected her, trying to stay calm. "Wait, you're more then that. Let me go over this one more time. Over the last four years I've been implanting a series of high density boi-metalic nano-wire connectors under your skin, flowing power through a series of quantum-computers and processes that integrate with your various biological systems. They blend in, and slowly become a part of you. Once done, not only will they produce a subdural armor, but the connectors will allow you to manipulate energies for a variety of purposes. Honestly, if humans weren't so close to the Kree, genetically, this wouldn't be possible."

"Yea, the Kree." Cat said, not sure she wanted to hear about them again. Adam was a charmer, but sometimes he did tend to lecture, especially when he was so proud of how he'd adapted some random bit of tech.

"Besides, we're almost done. Just one more treatment, to activate the batteries and power generators, and your set." The man said. He looked absolutely giddy.

Cat shifted nervously. "I hear batteries explode." It had been something that had bothered her ever since she read that some of the old smart phones batteries exploded.

"Depends on how they store the power. What were using is a variant on bio-chemical storage. You're body stores the charge, mostly in your muscles, and because of the modifications I've made, you could store enough energy to power LA for a year." He explained, again. "You won't explode. It'll just be a tad colder around you as your body starts initiating a heat transfer to power up. Once the batteries are charged, the excess power absorption goes into standby mode, and you just tingle a little."

"So I'm powered by heat?" Cat asked. She hadn't paid attention when he'd explained this in the past. Sometimes she'd get lost in his eyes, and others she just didn't want to know. But now, it was of paramount importance.

"It's not like your creating an ice age to power up." He explained, trying to keep calm as he got into the explanation of the systems he'd built. "The transfer is relatively small, and I've set temperature control so you don't make things noticeable. You won't be dropping he temperature in a room by a lot, just a little. It'll mostly be in effect when your in large, open spaces, where the air flow will keep the cold moving away from you." Cat just stared at him. "It uses waste heat to power up. No waist heat, no cooling. I've also set up a bio-converter as a backup and quick charge for when you need to fill a depleted battery. You just eat a bit more, and that helps charge your batteries."

"So I'll be fat?" Cat asked.

"Quite the opposite. You'll burn more calories then normal. I've set that for human norm, so if there's a shortage of calories, you don't starve." Adam explained.

"And how does my body know all these things?" Cat asked, rolling her eyes. 'He loves his tech. He can't wait to explain it.'

"I've hooked a secondary processor into your brain, then slaved all the lesser computers to it, thus essentially making all the recharge and maintenance systems part of your involuntary processes. You'll even heal a lot faster." The son of Loki said. "Look, lets finish, and then you start training. It'll be fun."

This was the big step she'd been working towards for four years. Up until now she'd been using spy gear, cute little gadgets the self styled "Adam Warlock" had built for her. Most of them weren't detectible by normal means. But they were just tricks. It was one of the reasons he insisted they complete this proses. Recently, he'd been pushing harder.

To Cat, it was understandable, after the loss of his father and grandmother. He was motivated out of love. They'd both known what he was making her, and the real reason why, the reason he couldn't even admit to himself. He was making her into a human weapon, because Jade would one day be the same thing. "Maybe you'll be a match for father, but I wouldn't bet on that. Mostly, you're there so Jade wouldn't be the only freak among her friends.' He'd said, once, three years ago.

Of course, he knew what he was doing wasn't the nicest thing he'd done. Nor, unfortunately, was it close to the worst. He just reminded himself how many people would have killed to have had the power he was giving Cat. Over the years, he'd gotten very very good at rationalizing what he had to do.

Cat had always been true to her desire to help Jade. She didn't care that one day she'd be able to fly, or hurl bolts of energy. She just knew, one day Jade would be able to do much of that, and it would help her to have a friend who could too. 'But that was before she started visiting her family, their family, up in Asgard. Now, she has them, and they can all do the kind of amazing stuff Adam said she'd be able to do. She doesn't need me.' The thought saddened the redhead.

However, over the last year, Cat had continued to come here, whenever she got the text, for the next treatment. 'And this is the last one.' Both had thought. Cat walked up and lay down on the table, under the device Nari had assembled all those years ago. Both watched as it hummed to life, implanting nanomaterials into her skin, finishing the bio-steel connections surrounding the high yield power feeds. Cat waited, and less then ten minutes later, the machine went into it's final mode, disassembling itself.

"I guess we were closer to finished then I thought." Adam said. "Try something. Form the force field."

Cat did as she was asked, and quickly a golden field of energy formed around her. From there, she was able to use the field to focus a burst of energy and blast a box on the far side of the warehouse. The box was demolished in the explosion.

"You can adjust the energy release up and down the electromagnetic spectrum, but you lose a lot of punch. Or just go with force. You have about as much punch as Iron Man, and the force field acts as an air filter, along with holding a short term air supply of it's own. You'll be able to fly, survive in hostile environments, and project enough energy to give Thor something to think about. Even without, the armor and muscle enhancements make you more then a match for any normal man. In short, you're ready."

"Won't I have to learn how to use these abilities?" Cat asked.

"Pre-programmed." He replied. "Why do you think I included so many bio-computers into this thing. Some of them have been tracking your movements for years, learning how you move and adjusting to the expected power you'll be having. Of course knowing how to make the gun work doesn't mean you know everything it can do. When you have a chance, and no one is watching, take it out for a spin. Really see what you can do. Just, your air supply is limited to about an hour, in case you decide to explore space of the bottom of the ocean. Also, if you get wazzed at someone, remember your body is now much stronger then it was."

Cat nodded. 'Now the real job begins. Keeping Jade safe. Moistly from herself.' She thought. 'Maybe I'll tell her next week, at Sikowitz's big premier at that theater, the Harrison, I think. I hear there will be agents and others all over the place. I'll invite Sam...'

"So, tell me about that play you're helping her with?" Nari (Adam) asked.

"It's for Sikowitz." Cat stated, feeling much more comfortable talking about acting then being a super. 'I'm gonna miss those fun tech toys he gave me...' she thought. "Can I keep the spy gear?"

"It has limited combat use." He warned. She just shrugged, and continued.

"Anyways, since it was Tori's idea to put on a professional presentation of Sikwotz's play,..." Cat went on. Adam, as always, was such a good listener.

:}

Originally, I have Beck and Cat's origins together, and neither were very long. So I guess this had a bit of filler. I hope you enjoyed it anyways. And yes, this one had to come after Jade's origin. But next time is Beck's, and then Tori's. I'll also explain the incident.

Comments, questions, please write it in the reviews. I welcome all comments.


	6. Chapter 6 Beck's story

Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., or their characters. If I did, one would still be on the air, and the other wouldn't have so many periods in it's name.

:}

Beck would love to say he had the all American childhood, full of fun trips during the summer and swimming lessons and everything that makes life worth living. But that would be a lie. Not a big lie, not by any stretch of the imagination, but there were startling differences that made it anything but true. You see, Beck was Canadian. Not just Canadian, but born from a mixed marriage between an (Desi) Indian woman and a white man. Born to two cultures that could easily have clashed, leading to discrimination from family and society in general. But he was born in open minded Canada, to understanding parents. His mother was third generation, past most of the culture clashes of the earlier generations. She had both the respect for tradition from her family, and the wide open future of a non-traditional country. She did face some issues for marrying out of her Indian community, but those died when her very white boyfriend charmed his way into their hearts. But despite that, Beck did see prejudice, on TV and in the news, he just never once encountered directly it while living in Vancouver. (Where his entire family spoke English, had deep roots in the community, and were taught to play nice.)

Beck did grow up going to fun camps over the summer, and taking swimming lessons, and in general enjoying the short months of sunshine. He had the all Canadian childhood in Vancouver. He was encouraged by his family to find his passion, figure out what he wanted to do from an early age, and that led him to discover acting. He discovered it, he loved it, and he asked his father if there was any way he could pursue it. Winston Oliver was and is a very caring man. He sent his son to workshops for child actors, dance classes, music classes, whatever would help the boy get on stage. He encourage the his son every step of the way. Then, when Beck was approaching middle school, the proud father talked to his boss about moving someplace with a great performing arts high school. Vancouver had an arts school, but not one with the reputation, or the connections, of one of the more famous American schools. Thus did Beck move to Hollywood, California, and he would get to experience his first moment of discrimination.

Beck looked Hispanic. His complexion was just brown enough to have some kid at his audition call him a wetback. At his audition. For Hollywood Arts. The kid accused hm of cheating, getting in due to Affirmative action and quota's. Beck, talented, trained Beck, tried to ignore the comment, but four days later he found himself crying to his very white father. Then they had a long talk about envy, hatred, and injustice. They discussed prejudges, which led to talking about Winston's previous job.

Before working for Limelight speakers as a manager to people who make their living giving speeches, Winston had worked as a preliminary investigator for an on line newspaper. Not a reports, but the person who checks things out before the reporter shows up to do the story. In doing so, he witnessed the ugly side of humanity over and over again. He told his son about the horrible things he'd seen done in the name of supposed superiority. Then he talked about what happens in America, where things were often so much worse. He was much happier with his new job.

Booking speeches, flights and other needs for people far more interesting then he was turned out to be a quiet job that paid far too much. The company got eight percent of whatever the client made, and Winston got half of that, minus expenses. Expenses often covered by the clients, with fees usually exceeding ten thousand dollars a speech. A dozen clients, and hundreds of speeches, and it added up. Beck didn't care, he was just glad his father was happy again, not dealing with that kind of hatred regularly. Beck swore he'd face with such hatred with an open mind.

Beck started in the Hollywood Arts Middle school program, and it was the magic he'd been living for. This was acting, even if it was only for the second half of the day. As a bonus, the young man was growing into his looks, a gift from both his parents, as well as having the perfect mix of his mothers patience and his fathers charm. Beck was becoming popular. To the kids at school there wasn't a hint he was anything but the perfect California cool laid back teen.

And they lived well. Winston's money wasn't quite "Rich." It was upper middle class, and enough to cover the various hobbies both he and Beck developed over the years. It helped them both be better people, and adapt to the shallowness of Hollywood. Winston was determined that his son always have depth, even in the shallowest of places. And while Beck's father helped him develop his scene of charm and dignity, as well as eventually pay for an RV so he could live under his own roof, his mother had her effect as well.

Rana tried as hard as she could to be the supportive wife her husband deserved. She cared for the children, tried not to argue in front of them, and in general kept the home, something that stood out in their earlier lives among the young career women who lived near them in their then lower middle class Canadian home. But as Winston grew wealthier, she pursued hobbies. Hobbies like cooking, and running, and cars. Rana loved NASCAR. There was no rhyme or reason, she just enjoyed watching it, even back when they lived in Canada and she had to learn how to find it on line. And as Beck grew into his teens, she indulged in her desire to know how to build them. Slowly she worked on the first one and eventually Winston joined in. He wasn't much of a mechanic, but he was willing to learn, didn't argue, and supported this new hobby. He never got that good, just was there for his wife. Then Beck joined in, and it took on a much deeper meaning. Rana even tried her hand at driving the fast cars, finding she wasn't as into it as she hoped. It takes skills to drive like that. She did drive in some stock car drag races, after which Winston called all the races they'd watch drag races, something Beck emulated. He loved how flustered it made his far more literal minded mother.

Thanks to his parents, Beck also made it a point to be friendly to as many of the students as he could. Part of it was his memory of being called a wetback, but most of it was from his fathers instance that people should be judged by their actions, not their looks. It was the reason he become friends with Robbie, Sinjin, even Jade. His one time girlfriend was either going to be an epic bully, or victim. She was too dark to fit in otherwise. That she grew up beautiful, with a feeling of power he never seemed to be able to explain, only helped her mystique, but didn't change how different she was from the other popular kids. Beck found that trying to be there for the freaks and losers sometimes brought rewards, like good friends and a girlfriend who was hot, if a little psychotic.

And Beck was happy, living what should be the perfect American teenage life. Maybe Jade drove him crazy with her secrets and trust issues, not even telling him when her grandmother died until he'd raced over to confront her. And maybe she carried a lot of parent issues, making her cray cray. But when they broke up, it felt like it came from left field. The hardest part was he was the one who broke it off. It hurt like hell, after everything he'd done, everything he'd learned in coming back to her the second time, but Beck finally accepted that Jade didn't love him like he loved her. Beck was her safety net, and it was time, long overdue, that she take a risk and try to fly without that net. Jade needed to allow herself to love someone, risk being broken. But even that realization, the actions he did, were within the limits of the classic California American childhood, extrapolated from the movies. Beck was the good guy letting go out of love. His future as an actor was so clear, with nothing ever going to change that.

For Beck, the thing that would change his idyllic looking life, more even then attending Hollywood Arts or dating Jade, happened due to Sinjin, as a result of their so called "Man Date." After watching the NASCAR, insisting it was drag racing (Which Sinjin didn't argue), and otherwise enjoying the evening as friends, Beck had made it a point to hang out with the nerdy boy more often. Their shared love of speed led to long talks about various related projects, like Beck's restoring cars with his mom and dad, what he called his family bonding time. Beck had explained "Thats why I've had the chance to drive these amazing classic cars. We're always restoring something, and then I get to drive it until we sell it and start over. Sometimes, we don't sell it, and I have one more cool car I can borrow."

That opened the discussion for Sinjin to talk about the things he built. Cars, and boats, and model planes, and even a custom computer. He'd started working with his dad, but quickly moved on to working alone, since his dad didn't share most of his interests. His Sinjin's dad loved money, and making it, even what he could do with it, but was never a hands on kind of guy. If something needed to be fixed, he knew who to call. The discussion of who worked with Sinjin, on how he learned, and where he worked on all these different projects led to the Canadian discovering Sinjin's lab, located out back of the lanky boys home..

Sinjin was more then just a hacker, or a mechanic, he was gifted in so many avenues of tech. Sinjin trained with some of the best, many former SHIELD educated scientists. Why the boys father indulged him was never brought up. Neither was why someone who owned a rubber factory would hire those scientists in the first place. Sinjin knew, now that he sometimes helped his dad out on rush research projects. He knew his fathers research lab used to act as a research group for Stark international, and now they built weapons solutions for SHIELD. (And possibly Hydra.)

Sinjin liked to discus those things, technology and the wonderful things it was going to bring, something Burf didn't always like to talk about. The discussion not only could get technical, but Burf wasn't into the so called super tech used by S.H.I.E.L.D.. Beck filled in the slack, talking to the tall lanky boy about shared hobbies, but mostly listening. The more he heard about those projects, the more fascinated he'd become. It was during one of those times when Beck overheard Sinjin mention the projects the nerdy boy sometimes did for his father, the first time the tech obsessed nerd admitted he himself did a lot of that ground breaking research.

"Ever do any research for yourself?" Beck asked.

"I've been trying to use magnetics for mining, just to get away form the military uses everything I work on seems to have." Sinjin replied. "Kinda hard, when you consider that most dirt isn't magnetic. But by shifting the frequencies, I've been able to make a form of drill, something that can help open the earth for exploration and recovery purposes. You know, mining. Problem is, it requires a lot of power, and I don't know if the people who get it would use it right. I mean, what if they wanted to use it to tear open a tank, or a building? Think of the damage it could cause."

"But you can build other things using magnetism, right?" Beck asked.

"Variant forces based on the Earths magnetic field, but yea." The nerdy boy assured his friend.

"Now, you don't have to, but how about you build us something to fix our need for speed?" Beck suggested. He liked the idea of trying something new. Something that let him feel the rush. Not the same rush he felt when he knew he'd totally submerged himself in a character, and was feeling what that person should be feeling, but just as intence.

"I suppose I could, but aeronautics isn't my strong field." Sinjin started, much to Beck's confusion. "Then again, Tony Stark built the Iron Man armor, and he isn't the best at that chiz either. I suppose I could adapt a computer, maybe make a glider of some sort..."

In the weeks that followed, the project mutated, slowly changing from a glider to a suit of powered armor. "The suit will need to touch as much skin as possible, and is more a suit of circuit boards and wires hidden under thermal super-coolers then a protective suit of armor." Sinjin explained.

"But why drop the glider idea?" Beck asked.

"Power." Sinjin said. Courtney was standing maybe a half dozen steps away, helping her brother with some of his design ideas. She lacked his creativity, but was more solid in the fundamentals. Once he came up with an idea, she could help nail it down, make it work. Together they were a formidable team.

"While the electromagnetic field wouldn't need that much power, per say, it would need to conform to the object we're using. A human body has a field, and the circuitry we're using can be grandfathered into that field." Courtney explained. "Also, for most of the functions, we're gonna need a lot of power, more then usually found in the earths magnetic field. But the field, along with many other biosphere based natural phenomena, creates that energy. We just need a process where that power can be brought to bear. We've found that the best effects for having the suit mimic movements is if we key it to run off the subfield associated with the subjects muscles. That will also help the power flow, while giving us the best results in power consumptions control. So Sinjin and I have built into the suit a control computer to help the flow of power through your muscles. As a side effect, the armors exoskeleton and the power transfer grid will work as artificial muscles, amplifying the strength of whomever is in the suit."

"Oh." Beck said. He was smart enough, but this was at a different level. Still, it was a thrill to be involved.

"Of course, the suits strength is a happy side effect, and probably won't be as great as iron Man's, or even War machine's. But it'll be enough to make moving in the weight of the suit functionally effortless." Sinjin explained. "Also, we'll rout the control functions through the personal magnetic field, teaching it to move with you. Eliminates the need for those functions to be run by the overall processes. It'd be like running naked, with almost no real resistance. Also, to give you more punch, I've installed my magnetic drill, made it part of the overall magno-propolsion system. Add a short term air supplies, some kind of magnetic imaging systems, and you've got quite the weapon there. The drill will be able to be reconfigured as a variety of weapons."

"Wait, why me?" Beck asked. "I mean, why not you, or Courtney? You both are as interested as I am in flying, right?"

"Muscle mass." Courtney said. "Simply put, you have it, we don't. Now I'm going to give you something that looks a bit like french cut men's bikini shorts, but is made of a special mesh. I need you to put it on, and come out here for a fitting. Next we'll inject some grounding material into your subdurmal layer of skin, giving you extra protection from the increase in magnetic fields this is gonna cause. Energy reactive materials that will help shunt the excess. Then we'll fit the markers, make sure they're reading your muscles field as well as allowing some small throughput of power, and then we'll tune them to the nano-computers. After that, you can put on the suit."

"And you need me in this," Beck asked, holding up the briefs, "So the conditions are as close to those I'll face in the suit as possible?" It was about as much of the explanation as he understood.

"No, she just wants to leer." Sinjin replied, while setting up the machine that would help implant the energy refracting materials, as well as monitor the reaction in Becks magnetic field to the control sensors and the power flow. 'With luck, this baby will have enough power to do everything we want it too.'.

"Beck's soo pretty." Courtney mewed as Beck walked back to the changing area.

Despite his growing misgivings at the way Courtney was looking at him, and how she touched him during the fitting, Beck did as he was asked, and the preformed a series of tests. Slowly they built the systems around him, always having him ready to take the suit off if things looked to be going wrong. The first test was ended early when the power flow exceeded expectations to a dangerous extent. It was like the power of the earths "enhanced" magnetic field was far greater then expected. But the boy soon found the suit was doing exactly what Sinjin had predicted it would. The strength enhancement wasn't small, amplifying his strength to about ten times it's normal, far more then was needed to move the less then sixty kilo's of power armor. The weapon systems were put on hold until other systems were in place. The most important ones they had to figure out where the force field, and the flight systems. Both were integral to the weapons system.

"Why are we potting in weapons again?" Beck asked, more then once.

"Initially because the magnetic field was based around emitters built for the weapons. It gave us the best control over flight and maneuverability." Courtney explained. "Now it's just in case, while testing, we run into someone, or something, that tries to take the suit. Self defense against something that can catch up to you is going to require a pretty big bang."

Beck didn't like the explanation, but accepted it. No one but him could use the suit anyways. Not unless they both had enough muscle mass, something the dancer had, and then had the suit married to their magnetic fields. So he continued the tests, hoping that this wasn't going to turn into some kind of massive mistake. Also, Sinjin was his friend, and Courtney, well, she did seem to enjoy watching.

Beck soon found that, in the suit, he could fly, fast. Hundreds of miles per hour fast. He enjoyed the feeling of flying high above the earth, and feeling the ebb and flow of the magnetic fields around him. That helped him locate things, in a broad and general sense. 'I'll have to be careful about using that to choose targets. Unless I can better distinguish between friend and foe, I'll have to confirm with my eyes what I'm shooting at.' He thought, an early indication that he had some ideas about how to use the suit.

Over the few months they'd been working on it, the trio had succeeded in everything but the weapons test. "So, the air supply lasts about an hour, but the scrubbers can keep it going longer if necessary." Beck said. These check-ins were essential for the success for the project.

"The air supply does have some limits." Courtney added. "The field doesn't do well against liquids. Over time, the heavier medium seeps through he field. I'm guessing you will want an outside air supply if your gonna try going under water for any length of time."

"The mining field works great." Sinjin said. "So your good under ground. We'll need a lot more space to test the weapon systems."

"Why don't the three of us go away to that cabin dad got in Death Valley." Courtney suggested.

"Why did he get a place in Death Valley?" Beck asked.

"Cause we needed a place to hide mom out at when she gets into some of her freaky things." Sinjin explained. "But the place is perfect. You're body has adapted to the magnetic fields, including the grounding mesh we'd injected into your subdurmal skin layer, which as a side effect makes you highly resistant to radiation. A necessity with that much electro-magnetic energy constantly flowing through your body. And they seem to be working. Highly resistant to radiation, on the verge of invulnerable, means some of the old nuclear test sights would make great places for your suit testing. I suggest we take advantage, say over semester break?"

"I'll have to make sure my family's okay with it." Beck sighed. "But to make the suit work..." The smile left his face. "What are we going to do once we make the suit work?"

"The Avengers only stopped Ultron by the skin of their teeth." Sinjin pointed out, getting very serious for the first time since they started this project. Until now he had always been happy, joking, showing a side of himself that Beck seemed to bring out. This was different, both from open friendly Sinjin and the weird nerdy Sinjin who stalked the Hollywood Arts halls. "And they'd pulled in almost everyone they could. Next time, maybe they won't stop the big bad. One more hero could go a long way towards stopping that threat. And Courtney and me, we'll be the scientist behind you, making sure your chiz works. Who knows, maybe I'll even make that glider we were talking about, or my own helicarrier research vessel. Face it, Beck, you need us more then you'd like to admit. Work with us. Lets save the world, together." It was an argument he'd been holding onto, adjusting, for quite a while, even before the rise of Ultron.

Beck could only nod. "So, you helping with Sikowitz's play?" He so desperately needed normal at that moment, as just what they'd been working on fully hit him.

"Who else would he trust to run the sound board." Sinjin replied, smiling.

:}

Once more about the play. Beck' suit is a salute to the original Guardian, later Vindicator, a Canadian hero who went through a lot of changes as time went by. The original suit, as per an old comic book I found, used a magnetic mining drill as it's main weapon. He could fly, had enhanced strength, and could wear his armor under a costume or clothing. Lots more on him, but I don't need to write a history. Beck's the powered armor, with Sinjin and Courtney as his techies.

A note about last chapter. Cyborg is a condition, not a description. The Lab Rats, of Disney XD, are cyborgs, even if they use the term bionic. Cat doesn't look any different then she would if she wasn't enhanced. She's just enhanced. Just to be very clear. No ugly scars or metal plates. Thank you for allowing me this rant. Now how'd I Get a soap box?

The gang seem to all be into something. Beck is human, except for his high resistance to radiation. I wonder what Tori will be. And maybe something happens at the Harrison theater. Something better, cause I mentioned it enough.

So, Review, comment, joke, imagine Beck (or Tori, or Jade) in french cut bikini briefs, whatever makes you happy. Just review.


	7. Chapter 7 The inceident at the Harrison

Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious, The Kree, the Inhumans, or anything else from Marvel or Shneider's Bakery. I just put ideas in a blender, and poured the results onto a page.

Happy (Late) Birthday to Liz Gillies.

:}

The Kree scientific vessel Genome Raider was hovering near the Terran system, desperately trying to lose the Nova hunters who'd been following them. The Captain of the ship had been a follower of Ronan the Accuser, and since that noteworthy's fall, all those like him had been forced to go underground. Even coming to this backwards world was a huge risk. The Kree, and their now allies, had eyes everywhere. However, the inhabitants of this orb had once, many centuries ago, been test subjects in the development of biological weapons. Tests that had ultimately failed. However, the Captain was sure he'd managed to correct the mistakes of the old tests, and Terran's were close enough to the Kree that they made excellent test subjects. He hoped whatever seeding they'd done was still in the humans of Earth.

"We won't have much time. The best thing we can do is find a place with a lot of potentials, and set off a mist bomb there. The mists should seek out those with the right genetic markers. Then, we collect any survivors for testing, and with luck, we'll have proof that the experimentation's should never have stopped. Prepare the Terrigen Mist Bomb." The Captain ordered his soldiers.

He had no idea that his ship had been infiltrated by members of the Kree intelligence services. Or that these Kree were willing to die for their beliefs. A coded message had gone out to the Kree Emperor, and preparations had been made, all while remaining mostly undetected. The last part was the hardest. With Ronan gone, the rebel Kree weren't as trusting as might be thought, so the agents of the Emperor knew they had to be careful.

"Sir." A bridge officer informed the Captain. "The Nova fleet is closing, and they're not alone. We have reason to believe that they have allies. Possibly even hidden on our ship."

"Then we take a chance, and move on. Find me a place with a lot of candidates." The Captain commanded.

"There are several major sporting events scheduled across the planet." His weapons officer said. "Any one of those will do."

"Then choose one, and lets get out of here." The Captain commanded.

A missile launched from the ship, moving towards the Nova command ship. The missile was easily dodged, but that was the purpose. "Nova fleet, now that we have your attention, we feel it is important to inform you that a Kree warship is right behind us. Stopping us will cost you." The Captain announced. Then, to his crew, he commanded "Prepare to jump. When they see the hyper flux, I want them to think there is a ship coming. That should buy us enough time to get out of here."

The engines howled to life as the Nova fleet hesitated, only for the saboteurs work to be done. The engines exploded, taking out the Kree research vessel Genome Raider, as well as several of the more daring Nova fighters. Ironically, the saboteurs managed to board a life pod, were picked up by the Nova fleet, and would be returned to the Kree empire with their thanks.

All the while, the missile carrying a large dose of the new Terrigen Mist, traveled unnoticed towards earth. Using only the minimal power to keep going, pretending it was just another missed shot, it snuck it's way past various detections and defenses, until hours later when it broke atmosphere and crashed into the wrong building. Instead of hitting the anticipated sporting event, it hit a small playhouse.

Tori hadn't expected to be so nervous, not for a silly little play like this. But tonight Sikowitz was presenting his latest play, and thanks to his students, it wouldn't be at Hollywood Arts, but in the Harrison theater, a playhouse with an excellent reputation. It would also give her and her friends a chance to preform for some big names in the business. People who'd get to see her friends act, and sing, and dace, and in general perform, possible for the first time. Major names in the industry, so important that only those who read the trade papers knew they existed. It was almost a miracle, giving the gang, and their teacher, this break.

Of course, to make this miracle happen, she had to make a lot of promises. Promises like they'd provide their own crew, not that hard a thing for them to do. Promises like they'd employ actors that the owner of the playhouse favored, mostly in supporting rolls, but still giving the owner of the playhouse a chance to show off his favorites to the agents and producers and other big names in the industry. Promises like Mrs. Lee's daughter would get a part in the play, paying off their supposed debt to the restauranteur. It was a small part, one written just for her, of the kid sister of one of the characters, used mostly for comic relief. And even then Jade had been assigned to act as the girls personal acting coach, helping her get ready and preparing her to not ruin the play. For Daisy Lee, it was her chance to be seen, and for her mother to have her have that moment in the sun. And for Beck, it was a constant struggle to keep Jade from proving just how well she really knew Shadow Creek park. Daisy probably deserved better then an unmarked grave in the desert.

So Tori had been nervous, like any time she was waiting for the curtain to open, before she let the roll she was playing, or the song she was singing, carry her through. But the rehearsals were done, the parts memorized, the play tweaked, and adjusted to near perfection. Tori knew that, in just a few minutes, the curtain would open, and she and her friends would go out there and perform. Even her sister, Trina, had agreed to come to the performance, though Tori was worried the older girl was going to throw herself at the various industry insiders. But given the circumstances, even that might not have been such a bad idea. Trina had a writing credit for the play. Sikowitz didn't do comedy as well as he liked, so he used excerpts from one of Trina's serious plays, as well as input from Robbie, to add humor to this one. The agents, and producers, and big names in the industry, would see just how good the group was, and all their futures would be assured.

That was the plan, anyways. Who'd have guessed that opening night would lead to such tragedy. Or that a missile from some terrorist group would strike the building, collapsing the roof while spewing forth some kind of gas. The damage was terrible, with multiple emergency crews called in to sort for survivors. The rubble had taken several lives. The industry would have multiple behind the scenes people to be mourned the next time an awards show rolled it's honor roll of the dead. But what could have been the worst part was the gas. It spewed forth, infecting everyone with it's poison. Tori felt her body seem to stiffen, as if she was turning to stone. It was like she'd seen in the news, when Hydra was trying to frame SHIELD. Tori's last thoughts were of her parents. 'Mom, dad, I love...'

Her next were of how she'd gotten home. She awoke in her room, on her bed, with no memory of how she'd gotten there. "You're awake." She heard her sisters voice. "Okay, we have a lot to talk about. Stuff you probably won't be ready for."

"Spill." Tori said. "Start with how I'm alive. Or am I dead and heaven includes my room? And you? Maybe this is to keep me calm?"

"Only you would be that boring." Trina shot as she rolled her eyes. "Okay, short version. About a year ago, I was exposed to the Terrigen mists. It was while I was off visiting Aunt Sonya. No, wrong start. Anyways, the short version is, we're the descendants of some kind of blue angels, and not the navy flight team. Though thinking about it, that would be cool too. But Sonya told me that we had a special gift, and that she wanted me to know about it. A friend of hers had gotten her this crystal, blueish, and fragile. Told her that if I could touch it, I was special. Well, I touched it, and accidentally dropped it. It shattered into this mist, and the mists overcame me. I was... Changed. Thats when Gordon found me. He was one of the Inhumans, I'll get to that later, but he has some special abilities I could never guess. I mean, he's blind, but see's stuff I never could. I was taken, and tried, and found to be not a threat. But they did tell me not to use my abilities."

Trina stopped to let Tori catch up. "And what does that have to do with what happened to me?" Tori asked, blinking.

"The mists, they put us in a cocoon like condition. Like the one you were in. I realized there were some big differences, like this mist wasn't killing everyone it touched who wasn't inhuman. It also wasn't cocooning them, not that I knew for sure if it should. But I also realized that, if you were found, and they did any medical examination on you, they'd see you weren't human any more. Hell, you had a chance of not even looking human after the mists. I had to protect you. I know Gordon is going to be here soon, to take me back and make me stand trial. But I was defending our secret, so I hope it'll be all right."

"And how did you get me back here?" Tori asked, needing something, anything to hold on to.

"I'm like a weaker version of Gordon." Trina explained. "Not a good explanation, you never met him. I can open a portal of some sorts, only it's not so much a portal as I kinda vanish, but they explained it to me in portals, so there. It's different then the one Gordon opens, looks and feels totally different, and I kinda need to know where I'm going. But it lets me step across space in an instant. I don't, however, have his ability to find people. I chose your room because it was familiar. Smarter would have been a near by ally, but I didn't have time to think. Thing is, I can hop across the world. I just need to develop the ability. And maybe, once they see I'm not so self centered, I'll be able to use this ability to hop over to Paris, or New York, and do some real shopping." Trina looked excited by the end. The smile on her face was radiant. Tori watched her sister, wondering if maybe, just maybe Trina was insane.

"Anyways, the next thing we need to do is come up with some story of how we got out of there." Trina said. "Once we can explain why we're alive, I'll call Gordon, or maybe Jiayig, and get permission to take you to Afterlife, out hidden community. There you can figure out whatever abilities you've gotten, and maybe learn to control them. I'm hoping it won't take too long. Officially, they say I was transformed at Afterlife, even through I wasn't. So I'm kinda not persona non grata there. I'm just not allowed to show off my abilities. But in time, I'm sure we'd both be super welcome."

"That does explain how you wind up wherever we go." Tori commented.

"No, that was all before I developed this ability." Trina explained.

"Great." Tori said. "So, how common are our kind?" Tori asked. 'I think we're... Inhuman?'

"Not sure." Trina replied. "It's possible that there were a couple of others like us in the theater, or no one."

"It would be so cool if our little gang developed super powers." Tori said. "We'd be like the Avengers, but younger, and maybe just a bit more musical. And Jade would be the villain." Tori finished with a frown.

"Cheer up, Little sister. Lets go find out if everyone's okay." Trina said, reaching for her sister.

"I thought you said you needed something you were familiar with." Tori said, pulling back.

"Don't be silly." Trina replied. "I have something. My car's parked near the theater. Just, you know, don't freak when our positions shift." With that, the world seemed to blur, then they were sitting in Trina's car. "Okay, we got out in the early confusion, we're okay, and we need to see how everyone else is doing. Okay?"

Tori nodded. "Lets go." She said as she got out of the car.

They walked over to the police line, looking for anyone they knew among the officers. Their dad had his cop friends, but the force was fairly big. They couldn't know everyone. Despite that, they were able to get the attention of one of the officers. "Excuse me, but my sister and I were just in there, a little while ago. I pulled her out of the wreckage, and to my car over there." Trina stopped to point. Tori watched, amazed. Trina was such a suckish actor, she should never have been able to pull off a lie like that. "But my sister insisted on coming back to find out how her friends were doing."

"I'm sorry, but you'll have to stay back. We'll give you a phone number to call to see if anyone you know is on the injured or dead list." The officer said. It was sorta cold, the way he said it. The sisters, however, knew why he was saying it. They were out and the building wasn't safe. Besides, to the police, it was important to get civilians and the rescued but healthy safety away, rather then having onlookers clogging up the access rescue workers would need. That, plus why create more victims.

"I'll take your statement." A plane clothed officer said. Tori walked over to where the man was standing. "Name?" He asked.

"Tori Vega, and his is my sister Trina. When things got scary, she got me out of the building." Tori tried using the same excuse her sister had used.

The officer was writing down her statement as a uniformed officer checked a list. "Tori Vega, right?" the uniform said. "Okay...Wait. I need to call this in."

"Whats happening?' Trina asked, now a bit worried.

"It's just you should have called home, let your folks know you were all right." The detective said.

"Is it really that big a deal?" Tori asked.

"It is when your dad's a detective." The uniformed officer said. "Yes, let Detective Vega know both his daughters are safe." Then back to the sisters, "Are there any more of your family in there?"

"No, just our friends." Tori said. "Who I'm very worried about."

As they were checking in with the police, a van arrived, and backed up to the police line. Someone showed the officer there something, and the van was allowed past the line and access to the scene. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask everyone to back up, please." The officer in charge said. Rescue workers continued to do their jobs, as a colorful red, while and blue uniformed man stepped out of the van and made his way into the wreckage.

"Wait, was that Captain America?" Trina asked.

"I'm sorry, but your going to have to vacate the area." The detective they'd been talking too said. "We have your statement, so please have one of the paramedics check you out, and if they say you're okay, then go home. You're parked over there?" He asked, pointing to the lot where Trina's car was. "As soon as you're checked out, please take your car and go."

"Okay." Trina said, putting her hand over her sisters mouth. As they went over to be checked out, the elder sister said "Somethings not right about this. We have an avenger entering the building, and they're acting as if under a news blackout. Also, it feels like their trying to get rid of us. If we're lucky, they'll think we got out before full exposure to the gas." Tori nodded, showing she understood. Also, Trina's hand was still over her mouth.

The sisters stopped by a paramedic long enough to confirm there were no cuts or broken bones, then walked over to the car, watching to see if anything unusual happened. What they saw was the police and fire department pulling people out. The two stayed until an officer walked over to their car and ordered them to go. The drive home was quiet. "Why the secrecy?" Tori asked.

"Maybe there were others like us?" Trina guessed. "That would explain why Gordon isn't here already. He's kinda fast at finding us when he wants too."

"And the police have them?" Tori guessed.

"Or SHEILD." Trina corrected her sister. "Why else would they send Captain America out here. And think about the response time. If I didn't know better, I'd have sworn he was already in the area."

"Maybe he was?!" Tori whisper yelled. "Maybe they set off the mists."

"Except where would they get the mists?" Trina asked. "Most people are human, and touching the crystals are deadly to them."

"Except you said that this mist wasn't affecting the humans." Tori pointed out. "So maybe SHIELD discovered our secrets, and sent the Captain in to help recover the more obviously mutated of the victims of that attack."

"I'm not sure." Trina argued. "If that were the case, they'd have kept us on the scene. No, somethings wrong. Tori, I'm calling Gordon. I hope he's awake." Trina pulled out her Cell Phone. Tori took the time to check the web-sight that was on the card the police had given them. None of her friends were listed, but it was early.

"Gordon isn't picking up." Trina said, pulling into their driveway. "I'm going to check up on him. Tori, if mom or dad get home, tell them I went to Afterlife. They'll understand." Then, there was a blurring of her sister, who seemed to fade from view in under a second.

Tori tried her friends phone numbers. Not sure where to begin, she tried Cat. "Come on Cat, be all right." She said to the air.

"Hiiii Tori, this is Cat, on her phone. Jade is also in the vehicle." Cat's voice chirped back.

"Thank god you're okay." Tori said. "How's everyone else?"

"Not sure." Cat said. "We got separated in the smoke and whatever that gas was, and wound up outside the building. Now the police wont let us back. Jade's wazzed, but driving me home. I've been able to get in touch with Robbie, and he's fine. He said Beck and Andre were still there, trying to help others. So as of the last time I check in, everyone of us was alive."

"Thank god for that." Tori said. "When you get a chance, we need to get together."

"Kay kay." Cat chirped, and hung up.

"Okay then..." Tori said, getting out of the car and heading into the house. Not sure if she should do it or not, Tori decided to call Andre, just to see if her friend was okay. The phone rang, and just before shunting to voice mail, someone answered.

"Tori, listen, I'm fine, Beck's fine, everyone's fine. Well, not exactly, given that the missile caved in part of the ceiling. Sinjin's alive, but hurt. He hid under the sound board. There must have been a dozen killed, and maybe twice that number injured. Considering we probably had about a hundred people in the audience, and another twenty cast, crew and back stage guests, we got of lucky. Police are checking everyone out, and if your not hurt, their sending you home."

"Why are you still there?" Tori asked.

"Beck and me, we volunteered to help dig people out. As soon as we got the go ahead, we were in. Most of the people are out now." Dre told her. "Beck is with Sinjin. Went with him to the hospital. I'll be heading out soon..." He just let that drop.

"I saw Captain America as we were leaving." Tori said, not sure why.

"Yea, he was here, helped us get the heavy chiz off of some people." Andre said. "I'd say it was a thrill, but I'm still kinda in shock. You and Trina, your safe, right?"

"Yep." Tori said. "Trina got me out the back."

"How?" Andre asked, showing an unusual interest.

"Trina said I was out of it, so she carried me to her car. Out the door and down the ally, I think. Towards the south parking lot." Tori explained. "Is there something wrong?"

"It looked like a hole was bashed through the wall, towards the northern end of the ally." Andre said. "Any chance Trina saw what did that?"

"The smoke and gas and dust were kinda think when I lost consciousness." Tori explained. "So she probably didn't see anything. Maybe she heard something."

"Maybe." Andre replied. "Cat is with Jade. Said they were going to spend the weekend at Jade's grandfathers place."

"The one who lost his nose?" Tori asked.

"Something like that." Andre said. "Look, Tori, I gotta go. My ride just let me know we're finished here."

"Talk to you soon." Tori said.

"Probably won't be until after semester break." The musician said. "See you when I get back."

Trina had reappeared during Tori's phone conversation. "Afterlife was attacked. Not yesterday, but recently. Only a couple of people were there when I got there. Most had already been evacuated. But the people there, they said it was SHIELD. Then they said that Jiayig had instigated the whole thing, and that she was dead. Not sure what to believe. But Gordon's out, probably dead. They said they'd like me to take over, as much as I can, in ferrying the people to and from Afterlife. I said I'll think about it, but I can't make what he did my life." Trina looked to be in shock. "Jiayig was functionally immortal. Not sure how she died. But now, SHIELD knows about the location of Afterlife. I don't know if it's the best place to take you. But-but we need their expertise. You need to be walked through the transformation." Trina seemed to argue with herself. "I'll take you there, but you're my top priority. Anything goes wrong, and I'm pulling you out of there."

"Shouldn't we tell mom and dad first?" Tori asked.

"You're right." Trina said. "You call them, I'm going to go make sure their ready for you at Afterlife. Maybe track down a trainer." Then she vanished.

Tori called her father. "Dad, how munch do you know about aunt Sonya?" She asked.

"You're mom's sister?" He said. "Just what you mother was willing to tell me. Why?"

"Okay, this is going to take a lot of explaining." The singer said. "You know we're safe, and didn't get killed in the theater. But Trina said what they exposed us to was something related to Terran mists?"

"You probably mean the Terrigen mists." David whispered. Tori was struck silent by her father knowing that. "Look, when they sent Trina through the mists, I wasn't too happy with that. But once she developed her powers, they had to tell me. I know your aunt has the ability to look like anyone she's touched, as long as their within about twenty percent, plus or minus, of her mass. I also know her skins kinda yellow when she doesn't use her ability to look normal. And I just realized, if thats what the gas was, then you've changed. Tell me, anything different?"

"Not that I can see." Tori replied. "But Trina said I should go to this place called Afterlife."

"Maybe thats a good idea. Have her call Gordon. He can take you." Her father said.

"Why am I the only one who hasn't met this Gordon?" Tori asked.

"He doesn't like me, and wasn't too fond of your aunt, for some reason." David said. "But he'll protect you, help you adjust. It's for the best. I just look forward to you coming home, and knowing how to control whatever abilities you get."

"Dad, Gordon's dead." Tori said. "Maybe. Trina popped over to afterlife, and they told her he was gone, and that the lady with the Chinese name was dead too. I'm not sure..." her voice faded.

"Did Trina say whether they could train you?" He asked.

"She said they had trainers. They wanted her to help out, the way Gordon did." The singer said.

"Okay, but not to the extent he did." The police officer said. "If it helps you get trained, then maybe thats okay. But baby, be careful. If Gordon's gone, then there's been some major problems, and I'm not sure you'll be too safe there. I'm trusting Trina to take care of you. My god, I'm trusting Trina.! I need to call your mom... Love you." The phone went dead.

"Trina?" Tori called out. "Maybe we should go, like tomorrow morning?"

"Why the wait?" Trina asked. She was back.

"Make sure that things are okay there, and to give mom and dad a chance to say goodby." Tori said.

"Relax sister." Trina reassured her. "You'll see them again. Afterlife is isolated, so it's kinda safe. I'll make sure nothing happens to you."

Across town, Andre was talking to someone. "Cap, are you sure it's a good idea leaving him in the hands of SHIELD? I mean, he's my favorite teacher."

"His cellar structure is radically different then the norm." The Avenger said. "Shield is equipped to help him. They even said they think they know what happened. I'm going to trust them, for now. We, on the other hand, have a lot to do. You have equipment to learn how to use, and I have to get back to the avengers soon. I'll explain later..."

"No prob, Cap." Andre said. He looked back at LA, and wondered how much will have changed by the time he got back. 'I'm gonna be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, I should trust them, but with Sikowitz?'

At the hospital, Beck was sitting with Sinjin. "Broken arm. Cracked ribs. That sucks. We'll have to postpone the training you had planned for a while. At least until you've healed."

Sinjin looked around to make sure no one was listening. "No, I'll be out by tomorrow morning, and we go ahead as scheduled. Courtney will be my hands."

"Not sure I like that idea." Beck said.

"If you'd had the suit, you could have done a lot more to help in that theater. Especially if that was just the first wave of an attack." Sinjin scolded him. "No, we continue on schedule, and get you up and running as soon as possible."

Beck just nodded. "I guess it's a trip to the desert for us." He said. Sinjin nodded, then scowled in pain.

Across town, Robbie was pacing in his room. "They took Sikowitz." He said. "I can't believe they took Skowitz."

"Calm down, Rob." Rex said from his perch on the bed.

"I could have stopped them." The nerdy boy protested.

"I'm sure a dancing paper doll would have terrified them." Rex said. "That was Captain America there. An actual Avenger. No, you did what you had too. Tomorrow, we fly out to meet up with your uncle, and see if anything he has will help increase your abilities, given your natural gift towards animation. With luck, by the time we head back to school after the break, we'll have power enough not to be intimidated by the likes of Cap, or anyone."

Robbie only nodded, feeling particularly weak and helpless. 'I need the power to protect my friends.' He told himself. 'I'm going to get strong...'

Jade was watching Cat. The ditzy girl had flown them out of the building, after blasting a hole in the wall. 'Lucky it wasn't a load bearing wall.' She reminded herself. While driving to Shadow Creek park, Jade had made Cat spill everything about how the petite girl had gained her abilities. Now she was more upset then ever at her brother. But he wasn't with them. No, they were standing on the Bifrost, the rainbow bridge, looking out at the stars. Jade was in Asgard, waiting for her brother to arrive so she could rip him a new one.

"Relax, Jade." Heimdall said. "Thor is busy, but will be here as soon as he can. Why don't you go wait in the main hall?"

"Because Cat isn't allowed to be there." Jade snapped. The tall warrior didn't flinch.

"But she is." He said. "By Nari's request. But your brother is busy, working on something for Thor. You could be waiting for days before he shows up."

Fuming, Jade looked over at Cat, happily flying over the bridge. She'd been warned by the gatekeeper not to fly too far away. "CAT!" She called out. "Lets go. I need to find some place to get changed, and then it's time for me to introduce you to the family." Then back to the giant of a man. "Any chance I can make a phone call?'

"Your phone was built by Nari. I suspect it will reach Midgard." Heimdall said. "Now go, introduce your friend to your grandfather. I think there will be a lot of explaining to be done..." He smiled. Nari was defiant, but seemed to have his fathers gift for getting away with things. 'Or maybe he's going back into exile...'

:}

I know, strange place to end the chapter.

Okay, by the numbers. Tori's an inhuman, but the mists that got her were a modern Kree recreation of the mists used on earth. Trina can teliport, more then just herself. You'll have to read the next chapter to find out what happens to the gang, and what powers Tori, or Sikwoitz, has developed.

So, this was the incident at the Harrison I referenced in Chapter one. I hope it makes sense now. Also, review. Cause, I know you have thoughts, questions, or want to yell at me for my run on sentences.


	8. Chapter 8 At Afterlife

Disclaimer: I don't own the Inhumans, Victorious, or Afterlife. I just brought them together for tea.

:}

It had been tree days since Tori arrived, and things were peaceful at the place called Afterlife. She was getting used to the peace, the simple way of doing things, and the lack of technology. It wasn't like there was no tech, they were just out of range of their cell phones, and there were few other connections to the outer world. They were in the process of installing some kind of satellite dish, presumably to give those staying access to the internet, or maybe just to pirate HBO. Tori didn't care. She had so much to learn, and was only now figuring out the limits of her abilities. Her transitionist, a patient older south African black man named Thabo, had helped her figure out how to identify her abilities. He'd told her "For many, it's about time, letting the new happen. But when you are on a time limit, sometimes it helps to push nature, just a bit. Thats where I come in. I'll help you see whatever it is you've been gifted with, and help you figure out how to use your gifts."

Of course, everyone said that Jiayig was a better transitioner, but she had centuries of experience. Thabo had only decades. But Jiayig had succumbed to madness, and then died. Thabo was Tori's best hope of learning how to use her abilities. That was why Trina was asked to bring him to Afterlife, and why Trina was busy most days popping people in and out of the place. Tori was shocked to learn that, as good as her tansitionist was at helping others transition, he had never, personalty, walked through the mists. "My gift is a keen mind and the ability to understand how others adapt. It would be a problem if the mists robbed me of that. So, I chose never to face the change myself, instead walking others through the process. Besides, I saw the terrible price Jiayig had paid, and the eventual price we all did. No, I'm better off helping the young adapt."

Tori had taken to the man. He was kind, patient, and had a wicked sense of humor. Of course, his British sounding accent helped him seem refined, and his tales of south Africa were often both funny and enlightening. He'd lived through the worst of Apartheid, and still managed to get an education. Thabo was tribal leader turned middle school teacher, though he'd retied recently from both positions. Mostly, the older man loved helping others get through rough times.

But on the third day, something big was happening. Trina was out, taking one of the hopefuls home, when the quiet was broken by the sound of a VTOL jet landing near by. Tori found Thabo already up and dressed, specifically dressed up, waiting for their guests. "Thabo, whats up? Do we need Trina to get back hear and start evacuating the village?"

"No need." He replied calmly. "The elders have elected a new leader, as well as an assistant to help out while she's out. Afterlifes new leader is here dropping off another victim of the Theater incident. Apparently someone else was affected by the alien Terrigen mists. We've agreed to help this poor man. He's older, too old to be considered an ideal candidate, so the shock may be too much for his mind and body to handle." The older man then turned to look Tori in the eyes. "I hope you don't mind, but I'll be responsible for his transitioning. I've helped you, and hope to help him as well. Lets hope the physical mutations aren't too severe."

"But how'd they get here?" Tori asked. "And why not have Trina do it. I know, she's in Paris right now, but..." Tori let her voice fade.

"That was a S.H.I.E.L.D. jet." The old man said, reminding Tori of something she already knew. "S.H.I.E.D. knows where we are, and we've agreed to a peace treaty of sorts with them. We keep our own index, and let them know when they need to about any of us who might pose a problem. But they've agreed to let us live as we always have."

"So, no danger?" Tori asked.

"None." Thabo said, smiling. "You, however, might want to get out of sight until we've cleared S.H.I.E.L.D. from the compound. We're allies, but neither truly trusts the other. Not yet."

"You sent Trina away." Tori said, suddenly understanding. "You didn't want them to know we had another teleporter."

"We'll tell them, when they need to know." He said. "I'll bring our new leader up to speeds, and when she's ready, let her know about your sister. I just don't want them using her as a weapon, or thinking she's a threat." Then he looked at Tori. "Why don't you go practice your abilities. You're gaining some control, but still at the point where you're actions are gross movements."

"O-okay..." Tori said, but didn't go far. She was curious what S.H.I.E.L.D. was doing there. Who was the other one they'd be bringing in.

Tori spent the time thinking of what she'd learned about herself since arriving. From what they'd been able to figure out in the couple of days since she'd arrived, Tori's metabolism had shifted. She was able to use far more of the energy she gained form food, and her body could take that energy and utilize it to speed up various functions. Her body healed faster then before, and she could cause her body to move faster too. But the weird part was, unknown to her, the healing, coupled with her increase in energy, was causing her to age slower then before. The one thing she hadn't figured out yet was what other effect her speed was having on her body. Tori could run at hundreds of miles per hour, and do smaller things that quickly too. Her mind, however, had to shift into being able to process what was going on at those speeds. Accelerating herself so she could move that quickly was taking a bit of practice. Tori had no fine control when at speeds. Not yet.

So Tori wanted to zip over, take a look at who was being brought in, and then zip out. But she had no idea what effect it would have on her, if she could take a look at those speeds, or even is she could run up, stop, then run away. Instead, she was left to zip out to the training range and practice her abilities. Today, she was going to take a bunch of small rubble they'd gathered and toss it towards the mountain, throwing the pieces as fast as she could. She was hoping the exercise would help her get used to moving at those speeds, and maybe the speed she was throwing stuff at would cause it to go further. There was a lot to figure out that day.

Sikowitz was brought in, under guard, under he command of Sky. The young woman was assuring the quirky teacher that "Things will be all right. We just need to figure out what the mists did to you, and make sure you're not a threat to the kids you teach." He shrugged, and adjusted his feat in the sandals he was wearing.

"Were the sandals really necessary?" He asked.

"You don't walk around barefoot outside, do you?" Sky asked.

"Sometimes." The aging thespian said. "But usually not. I just feel a lot more comfortable without the shoes."

"Miss Zabo!" Thabo said. "Or do you prefer Sky?"

"I prefer Sky." The Shield agent said. "We've tagged this man as an Inhuman, but he hasn't shown any abilities yet. Other then he obvious physical mutations."

"I think he just looks like that." The aging transitioner said. "Kinda a hippy thing. Mister Sikowitz, Erwin, welcome to Afterlife. I'm hoping we can help you discover your gifts. I'm sure it's not much of a comfort, but I used to teach school too. We'll have a lot to discuss while you're here."

"How soon can I get back?" The balding teacher asked. "I have students. They need me. They get themselves into the weirdest situations, and need me to help them understand the particularities of Hollywood."

"We'll get you out as soon as we're sure you're not a danger to anyone. Until then, We've have a room prepared for you. Why don't you make yourself as comfortable as possible. Sky and I have a lot to talk about." Thabo said, gesturing towards the guest dorm.

"Like how so many of us got back here this quickly?" Sky asked.

"Exactly." The older man said. "Please, in your office. I'll explain everything."

A bit later Tori finished throwing the pieces of rubble at the mountain. It had taken her much longer then expected, but by the end she was moving at a good pace, developing the enhanced hand eye coordination while throwing shrapnel at the unmoving rocks. Nothing she threw made it to the mountain, but the distance to the mountain was great enough that she shouldn't have expected it too. Still, it was an exercise that had helped her immensely. Covered in a light layer of sweat from the sustained effort, she was ready for a shower, something to eat, and then maybe a nap, depending on what entertainment Trina brought back with her.

It was late, almost dinner, as she walked back to the village. The mountains that surrounded the compound caused it to go into twilight just a tad early. They had electric streetlights in the compound, and the sun was still high enough that everything was well lit as she walked towards her room to clean up before going to the dining hall. So imagine her surprise when she saw Sikowitz sneaking out of the guest house.

"Sikowitz?" She called out.

"Toro?" He replied. "So I wasn't the only one affected?"

"Why do you keep calling me Toro?" Tori asked, frustrated.

"I love the spicy tuna, and it makes a nice pet name for one of my sweetest students." Sikowitz replied. "So, from what I can tell, we're in a remote village, probably hidden in an off the maps valley in the Himalaya's. What did you pick up when they brought you here?"

"They didn't." Tori said, not sure how much to reveal. "My family, they kinda, sorta knew about the Inhumans. My aunt was one. The gas, it only affect those of us who have the hidden DNA that marks us as part of the original Inhumans. Long story involving aliens and genetic experimentation. But from what I've been told, and no one bothered to tell me before this happened, exposure to the gas gave us abilities. Powers."

"So you weren't brought here by S.H.I.E.L.D.?" The acting teacher asked.

"No, they have their own method of getting people around." Tori explained. "Have you shown any unusual abilities yet?" She asked.

"None whatsoever." The acting teacher said. "Which is relieving. Not sure how I'd react if my system was in hyper drive, like yours is, rebuilding itself over and over? Probably why you can move so quickly, with everything sped up. Funny, the whole thing will probably extend your life by centuries, with regeneration like you have."

"A-and how did you know that?" Tori asked.

"It just came to me. I can see it in you, clear as day. Not sure what it is about you, but once I got a clear look, it was obvious." Sikowitz said.

"THABO!" Tori screamed at the top of her lungs, running towards his quarters. Her movement was a blur and the repeated knocking on his door was like a woodpecker, genital raps at a high repetition causing the door to vibrate. No one answered in the long eternity she was forced to wait, before she realized she was perceiving at hyper speeds. Tori calmed herself long enough to confirm the lights were out, and rushed to the office from where he ran things.

"THABO, COME QUICK!" She yelled through the door. It opened to reveal him, as well as a young woman, mixed race, in her twenties.

"Whats the ruckus, child?" He asked.

"It's Sikowitz!" Tori said, trying to stay calm. "He can read my abilities."

"He can what?" Sky asked.

"We were talking, and he somehow saw what I could do." Tori explained.

"Take me to him." Thabo said, and Tori grabbed the older mans arm and zipped them to where Sikowitz was. Luckily they'd covered transporting people earlier, so he wasn't dragged by his arm.

The acting teacher had wandered off. Tori did a quick search, and found him some small distance away. "Show Mister Thabo here what you can do!" Tori urged.

"It's Mister Naidoo, but I don't usually use my last name here." The older man said. "Tori here says you can read her. How long had this been going on? Did you read Sky when you were with her?"

"I did, but I didn't understand it." Sikowithz said. "Tori here is one of my students, so the difference was more obvious. Sky's the young woman who brought me here, she has some abilities around vibrations. Can be fairly potent, cause shock waves to hurl things away from her. And you... You've never activated whatever abilities you might have, so I can't get a clear read on them."

Sky had, by this point, caught up. "Whats going on here?" She asked.

"Another first." Thabo said to her. "Erwin here can read our powers, probably some form of psychic awairness or maybe he's reading the energy imprints in our bio-feilds, but only after they've been activated. He ran into one of the residents, and she was a student of his. Seeing the differences awakened his abilities, and allowed him to start exploring them. He'll be invaluable to us in the future, helping us identify the childrens powers as they come out of the mists. Erwin, you are a welcome addition to our community."

Sky smiled at the scene, but at the same time was thinking about the coincidence of Tori running into her teacher out here, in this restricted location.

"Actually, I prefer to be called Sikowits." The drama teacher said. Then he addressed Tori. "Trina was at the performance, wasn't she? What can she do?"

Sky noted how both Tori and Thabo tensed at Trina's name. "Is it bad, or a secret?" Sky asked.

"It's kind of a secret." The old transitionist admitted. Then he decided it was time to spill things, hope for the best. "Trina has the ability to teleport. But she needs to have seen the location before."

"I think Mister Sikowitz should take a look at her." Sky commanded.

"Very well." Thabo sighed. "Lets go to dinner. I expect Trina will be back for that." Then he addressed Sky. "Trina was already one of us, having gone through the mists before. She was just too young to be used by your mother." He explained. "Or maybe she was too independent."

Once they reached the dining hall, Sikwoitz was quickly busy looking at everyone. Those who'd been through the mists were easy to identify and usualy had a good idea of what they could do, but he did find one or two hidden abilities. Trina was one of them, with a couple of tricks. Trina didn't have to move all of the mass she was grabbing, but it was a strain to move just a part. That gave her the ability to be dangerous when she needed too. But her big hidden ability was to follow satellite signals. Trina could go anywhere where she knew a phone number, or where she had a clear mental picture. The phone option was preferable, since it let her choose safe locations where people weren't likely to see her appear. "You also have no retained velocity." Sikowitz told her. "You can pop onto or off of a moving train, and use the local velocity. Very useful."

"I can move real fast." Tori told her sister.

"The question is, what to do about you?" Sky interjected. "I think, I agree, the Inhumans will keep our own database of who we are, and if you act out, cause problems, we'll give that information to S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Aren't you S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Trina asked.

"I'm also one of the leaders of the Inhumans, at least at Afterlife." Sky said. "I have to look after all my people. Balance the good of each side. Don't worry, the reason for the separate database is to keep S.H.I.E.L.D. agents from snooping where they aren't needed. The director will have access to both, and will make sure that your rights are respected."

"So you're not going to force us to work for S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Trina emphasized.

"If you want to join, we'd welcome you, but we don't force anyone to join. As long as you respect the laws, we're fine." Sky said. "And Trina, we'll probably allow you to skip across borders without a passport, but only on Inhuman business. No smuggling. Or maybe we can get you a special passport that won't cause trouble if you decide to visit some exotic places."

"As for you, Tori, both you and your sister have a lot of training to do." Thabo said. "Trina, we once got used to Gordon, to the point where we had trouble without him. We'll still want to use your abilities, but we must not be dependent on them. I've decided to ask Sky to help come up with other methods of getting our people here. Perhaps S.H.I.E.L.D. would be willing to operate a shuttle. Not as fast, but for those comfortable with S.H.I.E.L.D. knowing who they were, it would give them a secure method of getting here. I'll have you do some popping back and forth, but mostly your time will be your own."

"As for you, Tori, I will ask that you please make sure none of the others who got out haven't developed any abilities." Sky finished. "We need to keep an eye on superhuman assets. If one goes rouge, we need to be ready." After that implied warning, they went to eat dinner, enjoying the food.

"Um, Miss Sky?" Tori asked, looking nervous. "Did you used to belong to an on line group looking for answers about the super humans hidden in our midst?" Tori asked.

"A couple of years ago." Sky said. "Wait, are you Tori V?"

"Yep." Tori said. "I didn't know about the Inhumans back then. I only found out when I became one."

"Funny, I was one for weeks before I found out." Sky explained. "But I was grateful for this place. It helped me come to terms with my powers, with how to use them. Now, with the help of mister Sikowitz here, we'll be able to help anyone else who goes through he mists. That is, if he's willing to..." Sky let her voice die, the thought lingering.

"I say we spend the rest of semester break getting to know our limits, while I figure out if I can do anything else beyond just read other peoples powers." Sikowitz suggested.

"Isn't that enough?" Thabo asked. "You have one of the most useful abilities I've seen in all my years as a transistioner."

"Still, I may have other gifts." Sikwotiz said. "I'll just have to find out..."

The week came to an end, and with both Thabo and Sikowitz's help, Tori had mastered her ability to alter her internal clock. She could move quickly, and perceive quickly, when she shifted into that hyper mode. Other abilities worked on their own, including her rapid healing. She had some limits, including often being able to perceive faster then she could react, like when someone knows they are going to walk into someone else, but don't have enough time to just stop.

Sikowitz discovered he could do more then read people's powers. His abilities were borderline psychic, reading the energy signature of the person he was looking at. He could tell if someone was sick, or otherwise their body was out of the norm. His abilities for diagnostics were amazing. Also, he could see weak points in people's defenses, and places on the body where less pressure could cause more effect. Thabo told him, with his abilities, he could be a devastating combatant, always knowing where to strike for the maximum effect. That made the quirky teacher happy, even as he decided he didn't really want to be one of the combatants of the Inhumans.

Trina was learning how to follow the satellite signalers, and the telephone numbers. She was forced to re-learn everything, since her normal way of teleporting was just a hare different then following the signals. Sikowitz hypothesized Trina was already following telephone and radio signals, using relay towers near her target and then her memory in place of a receiving station. It made sense, but didn't explain how she could appear in some places. "Trina, everywhere you've ever tried to go has had outlets of some sort. Either a radio, like in a car, or electrical outlets, or a land line. You could do a forced jump, but you unconsiously choose the easiest rout. Take advantage of this. You don't get to see where you're going first, so this way you can find people by their phones, and choose to pop over when their alone." Sikowitz explained.

During that week, Sikowits also helped a couple of others learn their hidden powers. Most of the Inhumans had long ago mastered their abilities. But a few not initially at the compound still didn't know everything, and when they got there Sikowitz was a great help in identifying their abilities and helping them figure out how to use them. By the time the week was ending and the Hollywood gang was ready to leave, the teacher was one of the most popular people at Afterlife.

"If you ever get tired of teaching acting, you'd be welcome here." Thabo told him, again. Sky had headed back, and they were waiting for the quinjet to take them back to the U.S. Trina had offered to teleport them, but Sky overruled that.

"You use your powers responsibly. Thabo and the others will let you know when we need you. But for transport to and from Afterlife, let S.H.I.E.L.D. handle it. We have the Stark 5000 quinejet now, so we'll leave less of an ecological footprint." Sky had said over the radio link.

"How?" Tori asked.

"He's using a lesser version of his Ark reactor." Sky had replied. "He said it was kinda hard to develop, since he needed the technology to be safe, but still provide our jets with enough power to run. But the jets can run, almost constantly, for months. With maintenance, years. The first one's were commissioned as shuttles for various peoples, including the Inhumans, as per our agreement. But they also take S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel, often important people, across the world."

"Glad we rate business class." Tori said, remembering the conversation.

"It'd be so much faster if I just popped us back to Hollywood." Trina insisted.

"And you probably will use that form of transport, in the future." Thabo reassured her. "But for now, in front of the others, it's important we get used to our new working relationship with S.H.I.E.L.D. In time, we'll build our own transports, register with S.H.I.E.L.D. and other organizations, and do the transport ourselves."

Despite the Supersonic speeds the Quinjets were capable of attaining, they still needed hours to get back to LA. Still, flying at over three thousand miles per hour allowed them to get home far faster then if they'd taken a commercial flight. In just over four hours, they'd be home. "Be better if they'd included an in flight movie." Sikowitz observed.

"Or we can be patient, and just let them fly us home." Tori said. She was anxious to see her friends. It felt wrong, the way They scattered after the incident. Did any of them gain powers too? Were they really all right? Tori had to know. She especially felt guilty for not dropping by and checking in on Sinjin, who they'd known was injured. 'What kind of friend leaves town and doesn't bother checking in on a friend?' She beat her self up. "Trina, why didn't we pop back and check in on Sinjin?"

"Cause it's Sinjin." Trina replied. "Also, we were supposed to have been sent out of town. It would have been suspicious if we just showed up, then disappeared."

"As soon as we can, we should call Sinjin, see how he's doing." Tori decided. "It's the right thing to do."

"Or we could do what everyone else is gonna do, and check in on him once we're back in school." Trina said, sounding annoyed.

"Okay, whats bothering you now?" Tori asked.

"You mean besides the fact that S.H.I.E.L.D. officials travel in worse then coach conditions?" Trina griped at the seating. "I could have been home, in my room, and you could be off checking to see if our nerdy friends made it, if we hadn't agreed to let S.H.I.E.L.D. do transport. But whats bugging me is, even if we're not on the exchange, we are. They have a list of every Inhuman who uses the transport service. They have to be registered as an Inhuman to use the service. They may not know our abilities, but they know who we are."

"They know we might have abilities." Sikoiwitz countered. "Remember, not everyone who is Inhuman blood is exposed to the mists. Gods, think of the chaos that would ensue if that was the case."

Tori smiled, enjoying the strange banter that was going on. "He's right, Treen, we have limited anonymity. But you heard what Sky and Thabo said. We can use your abilities, as long as they know it's for special occasions, or family bonds. You are invaluable as a services, but they will decide what Inhuman business needs your help. All other teleporting you do is for your own reasons."

"I still need that special passport, so I can go shopping in Milon." Trina said. Tori just rolled her eyes. "I was gonna take you with me... Maybe."

:}

So now you know what Tori and Sikowitz can do. I know, Sikowitz is kinda a cheat. But he's fun, giving me the ability to have our girls up and trained more quickly. Plus, in time, he'll be useful as a trainer for other supers. But we've got a while to go before everyone's back and happy.

So thoughts. Review, let me know whats on your mind. And until next time, where would you go if you could teleport anywhere on earth? Think about it.


	9. Chapter 9 Coming home part one

Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious, Thor, or any of the other Marvel universe characters. I just took them to a social, let them mingle, and this is what happened.

:}

Jade sneered at the divot the Bifrost had left in the landscape. Both her brother and late father had ways to get from one world to another without using the bridge's system, and both managed to be far more discreet too. 'Why do THEY have discreet transport, and we don't?' she questioned the fates, one more time. Despite her dislike of this mode of going from one world to the next, Jade was happy to be home. "Tomorrow, we're back in school." She told Cat, who who was walking just behind her, with a sigh. Jade was looking forward to seeing her friends.

"Yay, I love school." Cat clapped her hands, bouncing in place at the thought. "I hope Sam was able to cope without me."

"Didn't you say she was spending the week in Seattle?" Jade asked.

"I think so." Cat said. "Or was it next week? Jade, which week are we on break?"

"Do you think she'll be back yet?" Jade asked, ignoring her friend. 'Girl just spent a week in Asgard, and she's still the same ditzy redhead... Is it a Lucille Ball thing, along the dyed hair?' Jade hardly had the chance to think about that, not with the other pressing issues. "If so, maybe we should call her, catch a ride home..."

"But we can both fly." Cat protested. "Why fight over the back seat of her motorcycle if we can both fly?"

"Maybe because we don't want to draw a whole lot of attention." Jade said, trying not to sound too sarcastic. "Neither of us live somewhere private. People will notice your golden trail, or my..." Jade stopped, realizing she didn't leave a trail like her friend. Her only problem was that while she was adapted to flying at high speeds naturally, Cat needed her force field. That, and she was still visible. Kinda. "Once it gets dark, I suppose I could fly."

"Carry me?" Cat asked.

"Lets see if we can snag a lift first." Jade said. "I'm anxious to be normal for a while." She shaded her eyes, trying to guess exactly where she was.

"I thought you were." The smaller girl said. "Back in Asgard, you were normal."

"My father was half frost giant, and my mother is some kind of adaptive energy being. Even among the Asgardians, I was a freak." Jade whined. "Now, I'm even more of one." The last part was said softly, as her feelings of isolation closed in.

"Then we're freaks together." Cat said, her voice showing an unusual maturity. "You're brother made me a cyborg so you'd never be alone. Well, not as long as I was alive. I don't know if he extended my lifespan, and you'll live what, five thousand years, give or take? But me, with luck, I'll be around long enough for you to stop feeling like a freak."

"CAT!" Jade snapped. "I don't want to hear about you dying. Not yet, not now. Please, lets just focus on getting home. I'll make the call, and see who can pick us up."

"Do you remember what Sif said?" Cat asked, almost as a way of making conversation. "That SHIELD would be able to detect the Bifrost, know that we landed, where we landed, and maybe send someone to check things out." Then a second later added, "Maybe they'll give us a ride."

"Right, cause that makes me feel so much better." Jade said, rolling her eyes. "Okay, we're flying. Cat, I'll go slow, so you won't need your force field. Let me know if it gets too cold, or you have trouble breathing..."

"Kay kay." Cat said. They managed to go about sixty miles per hour without too much problems. Jade couldn't use the runes in her ring to keep people from noticing her since she had to turn the whole thing off to use her abilities, so she flew high enough that they weren't easily noticed, all while keeping an eye on the landscape for signs she'd recognize.

Soon, they were flying over Jade's home, and the goth was able to set down in the back yard. She relied on her strength and other abilities to absorb as much shock as possible while remaining silent, giving them more velocity for the landing. Jade hit ground at over one hundred and twenty miles per hour, without making a significant sound. Still, not used to her powers, Jade hurt herself, quite a bit, and Cat insisted on staying by her until the goths healing fixed things up.

Jade healed fast. Even for an Asgardian, she healed fast. The unusual nature of her mother added to her fathers heritage. Despite that, Jade still felt the pain, and swore up a blue streak after landing. Her body healed the broken to shattered limbs suffered in the crash, while her mother came out to chastise her for swearing. "Jade, we do not use that kind of language around your brother. Do you understand?"

"Hi misses Jade's mom." Cat chirped. "We're back, and Jade isn't wearing the same ring she was. I mean, it looks the same, but her brother altered it somehow, so she can turn on and off her abilities. Thats what he told me. Jade's still wazzed at him, on account of him making me a cyborg."

"Cat, we don't have to share everything." Jade lectured her oldest friend through clinched teeth. She found she could function if she focused on not feeling anything, and the lecture was a good distraction. "Why don't you call your roommate, see if she's home. Maybe she can give you a ride?" She was sitting on the ground, still reeling in pain. Even with the focus, the pain made thinking clearly hard. 'But we need to get past the weirdness if we're ever gonna be normal again.' She thought. Then she focused back on numbness, cause she was hurting.

"JADE!" Her mother snapped. "That is not how we treat our guests. Cat here was nice enough to accompany you to Asgard, where she was hardly welcomed, and you would make her catch a ride home. You take her. And I mean drive. Your car is here, gassed up, and ready to go."

"But I'm hurrrt." Jade whined.

"And it'll take you what, ten minuted to fully heal? Or at least heal enough to drive Cat home. Now be nice." Ann, Jade's mother, said.

"Yes mam." Jade replied, sighing. The next few minuted were spent focusing through the pain.

"Jade?" Cat asked. "You're very resistant to damage, right?"

"Yesss?" Jade hissed. She wasn't in the mood.

"Then how did you break anything without making a huge divot in the ground? I mean, you could survive going through most walls relatively unhurt, so I was wondering..." Cat was droning.

"I made an energy field to absorb our impact, and didn't get it right. Using that energy comes from mom's side, and only Nari really knows how to use it. So no one in Asgard was able to teach me anything about it." Jade said, not sure how to explain that power, but grateful for the distraction. Explaining it took a lot of concentration. But it also took her mind off her healing limbs. "Using that energy also depleted my life force, so I guess I was more vulnerable. Plus, I heal just a touch slower after I use that energy. Anyways, the attempt diverted most of the impact into me, specifically my legs, instead of using the field to absorb it, so I wound up with some broken bones. Keeping it quiet shunted the sound into me too, and that couldn't have helped. I did, however, keep you from getting hurt. And guess what, despite my healing, my wounds still hurt like hell. Worse, cause I can feel my body mending even as we speak." The goth was obviously in pain, despite the lecture. Her body visibly healing, legs shifting as they returned to a semblance of normal

"Oh." Cat said, letting the rather complete explanation soak in for a moment. "I-I'll be in side, watching cartoons, until your ready to take me home." The petite girl didn't like seeing her friend in pain. Despite her desire to be there for Jade, this was just too disturbing to watch. Also, Jade was bound to swear some more, and Cat had heard enough over the last week to last her a while, and that was just Jade.

Jade growled. 'If someone had told me being heroic was gonna hurt this much, I wouldn't have bothered.' She thought. But she knew she was going to forget, soon, as her body finished healing and she got back into the swing of things. 'Then it's that annoying crush I may have on Tori. How does a god-like being fall for a normal? I'd ask Thor, but he's kinda a douche.'

Jade had to wait almost ten minutes for her body to heal enough for her to get up from the ground and walk. She would still feel tender for another half hour, but could function. "Cat, come on, lets go. I need to get you home before mom decides I'm shucking my duties." Jade said as she walked in and turned off the television. Cat was watching the end of some cartoon she claimed Jade's brother had been watching despite the redhead holding the remote.

Jade quickly walked Cat to her car. Part of the reason was Cat's obsession with Fox news. Her mother didn't like them, having dealt with people like that multiple times over her long lifespan. Fox news was forbidden in her house. Jade had been relieved to see the girl watching cartoons, having no desire to see her mother pissed off. Not that Jade had ever seen her mother display any abilities beyond limited shape changing, a long lifespan and rapid healing. But Jade suspected her mother had the same ability to convert whatever energy her line had that augmented their life force, and use it as a weapon, the way both she and her brothers could. She'd long ago decided 'Some things are disturbing enough.' She didn't need the image of her mother blasting Cat, or the TV.

Cat didn't complain as they drove into the evening, heading towards Venice. The twelve miles plus passed quickly, thanks to the minimal traffic. Yet there was that uncomfortable silence the two shared. "Do you think Sam will be back yet?" Cat asked as they reentered city streets from the highway.

"Sam has friends, family, in Seattle. She may not want to come back." Jade replied, trying to focus on the road.

"I hope she does." Cat said, looking sad. "Sam's my friend too, and I miss her. I know I won't be able to see her until she gets back. The others, our friends, I know I'll see them tomorrow. Even Sinjin. I had the gate guard check in on them, he said they were all either fine, or in Sinjins case, healing quickly. He also said Sikowitz was staying at the same resort town as Tori."

"And how does Heimdall even know what Vega, or Sikowitz, look like?" Jade asked.

"I have pictures." Cat explained herself. "On my Pear Phone. When they told me that the Hemi guy could see what was happening on earth, I asked. He was nice, told me everything. He said our friends were keeping busy, and that Sam was enjoying Seattle."

"But Sam moved out here for a reason, Right?" Jade asked, not liking the thought that Cat had asked the guardian of Bifrost, the rainbow bridge, to spy on their friends.

"Yea, she did." Cat agreed. "And she does kinda have a job out here. She babysits. So I guess she has a lot of reasons to return."

"Right." Jade said, smiling. "But if you really need it, and you see my brother, tell him you'd like Sam enhanced as well. But do it quickly, so I can kill him for what he did to you."

"Kay kay." Cat chirped happily. "But I like Adam, even if he did make me a cyborg freak."

"Yea, he works hard at being likeable." Jade sneered. "He exemplifies my warning about good looking guys. You know, with everything he's ever told us, he's hiding all kinds of chiz."

"He is a little older." Cat agreed. "He's what, ten years older?"

"Over two hundred." Jade reminded Cat.

"Right, and you'll live five thousand." Cat added.

"Can we not talk about that?" Jade repeated, frustration clearly echoing in her voice. If she was honest with herself, the idea she'd potentially live that long was hard for her to accept. But what her mother had told her, about how thanks to their bloodline she had a good chance of living multiple times as long as most Asgardians, was just too much for her to think about. If she had to choose, she would stick with the five thousand years. That number, as impossible as it felt, was easier for her to wrap her head around. Five thousand years was the time from the early bronze age to the present, just under the amount of time the mankind has had the written word. The goth decided to stop thinking about it, given the level of headache she was giving herself.

"We're here." Jade announced, thankful she'd avoided any accidents on her way there. She'd spaced out too often for her comfort. "What up with that homeless man?" Jade asked about one of the residents walking along the street.

"He's not homeless." Cat corrected. "He has a condo, and is living a great life. He just likes dressing that way."

"Okayyyy" Jade decided to get the hell out of Venice as soon as she could, a holdover from when she was functionally normal and this kind of chiz was a freaky threat. No sooner was Cat out of the car then she'd shut the door and put her car in gear. "See you tomorrow." The goth called as she drove off.

"Kay kay." Cat called back. Then Jade was gone, and Cat could walk calmly to her door. There was no motorcycle outside the apartment. Sam wasn't back yet. After going inside, Cat pulled out her phone, unlocked the hidden parts of it, and called someone. "We're home. Jade's fine, but hasn't figured out how to use that energy you two have. She thought it would be funny if you augmented Sam."

"I'll think about it." Adam replied. "As far as out mothers gift, the birthright energy, I haven't mastered anything more then the basics of using that power. Jade shouldn't be trying anything fancy. Just flight, and maybe a field to hold in oxygen. Nothing too complicated."

"You tell her." Cat said, smirking. "But seriously, could you maybe do something for Sam?"

"I need to decide what I can do first." Adam said. "I won't have years to work on her. It would have to be quick. As I said, let me think about it, and see what I can come up with. For now, just relax. And thanks for watching Jade."

"I haven't told her yet." Cat admitted.

"Haven't told her what?" He asked. "About staying in contact with me?"

"No, about how the others have powers too." The redhead explained. "While I was having Heimdell watch my friends, telling me what they were up to, he noticed that the Vega sisters were in some place called Afterlife. I had him checking in on them after that, and he told me they were something called Inhumans, that they had powers, and that Sikwoitz was one too. And I'm glad Jade never asked, cause I don't think I could have kept that secret from her if she did. I'm amazed I've kept anything from her. I usually slip up and tell her anyways."

"You're an actress." Adam reminded his spy. "I told you, just pretend that this is stuff that comes later in the play. Jade will understand. And if you don't think about the secrets you aren't telling, you won't slip up."

"Heimdell also said that Beck is training in some power armor that Sinjin built. And Andre was training with the Avengers. THE Avengers. Had himself some neat gadgets and everything." Cat continued.

"All of them?" Adam asked.

"I assume so, but I didn't ask. Maybe Iron Man was off doing something." Cat replied.

"No, all your friends?" Adam tried again.

"What about them?" Cat asked back.

"All of them had powers, or equipment to make up for the powers?" The Asgardian clarified. Cat could almost hear him trying not to get frustrated talking to her.

"Ask Hemmi." The ditzy girl replied. "But he told me that some of them do."

"Sometimes, fate can be a bitch." Adam muttered, not more amused then frustrated. "Stay alert, little red. There is going to be something you will have to accomplish. Probably soon."

"Why?" Cat asked.

"Cause the odds of a group of you all gaining abilities at the same time were minimal." Adam replied. "I'm talking astonishingly minute. The same kind as finding the special box of cereal with the good prize three times in the same week. But one thing I know about the way fate works, it often has a reason for what it does. Things could well come to the point where your little group is all that stands between the world and total destruction. I believe this is where an incompetent coache would say 'No Pressure'."

"Thanks." Cat said, smiling. 'I know he probably thinks I'm being ignorant, but I think we have at least a sixty percent chance to stopping whatever it is thats coming. Why else make us if we were just going to fail?' Cat thought to herself as she reached for the television remote. 'Now, lets see whats on Fox News.'

Jade drove home, thinking about all the things between her and Tori. 'Sad, when me being a demigoddess isn't the biggest thing between us. No, it's that I was such a bitch to her. For so long, I guess it was how I protected myself. How I protected my relationship with Beck. But now, I understand, my heart wants her. I know I'll be in for heart break, eventually. But maybe, just maybe, we could find some happiness before that?' She once again marveled at the part of her that stayed alert and kept her from running into anything.

Jade made it home to find her mother sitting, waiting up for her. "So, how was the visit?" Ann asked with a force neutrality that said she was worried about something.

"Great." Jade replied. "I learned a lot. The things Nari had that machine teach me, they gave me the physical training to go with it, helped me wok out the kinks in my fighting style. Used a sword there, and a spear. Man, they love their primitive weapons. Also learned just how strong I am, and how little I know about sorcery. Nari even offered to build me some weapons. I passed. I am a weapon." Jade's voice fell at that thought. As much as she relied on fear, it hurt to think of herself as just a tool. She loved scissors, both because they could scare people off, and because they were useful in creating things. But a weapon, the likes of her fathers people, those only existed to destroy.

"Maybe you should stop and think about that offer." Ann said. "Nari is brilliant. What he makes are often so much more then weapons. He spent over a century learning, and who knows just how talented he really is."

"And he's in perpetual exile." Jade added. Her mother smiled, holding the teen.

"Most of my children wind up in perpetual exile." Ann said. "Or dead. Even the smallest amount of power is a threat. Those who fear such power seek my brood out. Nari is one of the few who got powerful enough to defend himself while still young."

"Is that why you and dad?..." Jade asked, almost choking on the question..

"No." The ancient being said. "Your father was a charmer. Made me believe him when he said he wanted to spend his life with me. I wanted to believe that someone who would live that long, thousands of years, would be willing to spend that time with me. Besides, I'm not that powerful. More of a gateway to power, just as I was intended to be when I was bred."

Jade watched her mother open up. This was it, the moment her mother used to promise, when she was old enough to understand. "But I'm not nearly as powerful as many in this cosmos." Ann continued. "I can be hurt, killed even, and your father impressed me by being one being who could have done it, but didn't want to. I felt safe with him. But he also scared me, more then I wanted to admit. And Nari is his son. In time, my boy could well be as dangerous as his father, but with better weapons. I love him, but he's becoming a force."

Jade smiled. "And me?"

"You were created out of foolish pride." Ann said. "He tricked me into bringing you into the world, seduced me for his own reasons. I thought he wanted a child he could raise to be his right hand, since Nari was so independent. Or maybe he just wanted more then one child to impress his father. Odin never liked me..." The older woman sighed, pushing the sadness away. "But I love you all the same. I love all my offspring. Cursed to watch them die, one way or another. I've lived a long time, Jade. Ten thousand years, and counting. I've had so many children..." The eyes, those that her mother created, with the body she made so she could be human, bore into Jade's eyes. "Maybe you'll be the one, the child that lives as long as I do. And even if you don't, you, all my children, were born out of love. I love you so much." It was the first time Jade believed her mother when she cried.

Across town, another traveler was getting home. The tired Thespian walked into his trailer, feeling exhausted from the week of hard work. Phone in hand, he continued a conversation that had been going on from before he left for this final leg of his journey. "Look, Sinjin, you don't have to apologize for your sisters behavior. I'm used to being ogled. Besides, she really did help us figure out a lot of the bugs in this armor."

The speaker, still on because Beck was driving, blared as Sinjin replied. "I expected that much. She's always been good at the practical applications. It's just, Courtney could have been more professional." Then after a moment of silences. "We've managed to calibrate the weapons systems, and compensate for the power drain when their in use. We modified the flight systems, added power to the defensive fields, and even got the Communications and GPS working. That was harder then I thought it would be. Who'd have thunk a suit that uses the earths electro-magnetic fields as part of it's power systems would disrupt radio signals. But the point is, You're almost ready. How does it feel, playing super hero?"

"Thats just it." Beck said. "This isn't a game. People can get seriously hurt. We need to be careful how we use this weapon. Disaster relief, I'm in. Psychotic villain, I'm there. But we're not playing, not in it for the fame. We're doing this because the world is changing, and we need our hero's. We have the Avengers, but what happens when they need more people. You're the one who reminded me about what happened in Sokovia. They needed the extra manpower to save lives. If there wasn't War Machine, then who knows what would have happened. Lots of people would have died, and possibly all life on earth. Thats why I'm doing this. I'm going to be there the next time there is a global threat, or even a local threat that needs more then the local police can give. I'm just stepping up."

"You gonna continue to work solo?" Sinjin asked. "There are others out there, or maybe you could apply with the Avengers. Or S.H.I.E.L.D."

"I've got you, and Courtney." Beck said. "I don't want to be the new kid on the block, the untested member of the Avengers. I'll wait until I've had a chance to do some things, or they need me. In the meantime, I need to make sure none of our friends get too close. You know how Tori loves to stick her nose into others business. She means well, but could get seriously hurt."

"So your gonna start dating Jade again?" The nerdy boy asked. "She does a good job of keeping people away from you."

"She's crushing on Tori." The actor told to his friend. He heard two gasps on the line, reminding them both that Courtney was listening in. "Not sure how that's gonna work out, but maybe I'll need to be there to help her when it's done."

"Which her?" Sinjin asked. "Or does it mater."

"No, I guess it doesn't." Beck said, shaking his head. "But This, more then acting, is what I've wanted to do with my life. I just never knew until you gave me this chance. I feel so alive, knowing I could be risking my life at any moment. And I'll be helping people. Thats great. Now I just need a girlfriend who can handle that kind of lifestyle."

"If you find someone compatible, maybe I could design them some kind of suit." Sinjin chirped in. "In the meantime, we really should talk to SHIELD. They've reformed, and they would probably be the ones to know of the next group of hero's being put together."

"Sounds good." Beck said, thinking. "But I don't need them ordering me around all the time. I'd be an ally, not an employee. I can be a part of a team, an equal. I just don't need them managing my life. I'll do that on my own."

"Sounds about right." Sinjin said. "I'll call someone in the morning. Maybe we can arrange a meeting with someone, and show them what your suit can do."

"Or we wait a few weeks until I've had a chance to try the thing out in the field." Beck sugested. "I don't need to find myself in a situation I don't want to be in, totally unprepared. Let me try this on in a more realistic environment, make sure it's still me. Then, when we call, SHIELD will be looking to talk to me."

About the same time, Andre was walking into his grandmothers home. "Grandma, I'm home!" He called out. "I'm back from my week of training. Learned me some good dance moves."

:}

Yea, thats where I'm going to end this chapter. Jade's back, and she's now different. Her equipment is different. Even what she's willing to try is different. She's had a week to learn about herself, and she still only had rough ideas about what she can do. Expect hilarity, or tragedy, as she admits her range of talents. And Cat is still working for Adam.

Beck's back too. His suit is done now. He's tested it, and is ready to give it a field test. I'm thinking he's gonna know a lot about his weapons before he is thrust into battle.

And Andre, thats a taste. More next chapter. And I wonder, whats up with Robbie. Did Heimdell not see him, or was it more a case of not seeing what he could do, or him doing it? Questions that will need to be answered.

So review, cause what else are you gonna do with your time? Reviewing has shown to increase cognitive function in grades K through 5, if coupled with a good breakfast. So review today!


	10. Chapter 10 coming home part two

Disclaimer: I don't own either Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or Victorious. I just let them live out their fantasies.

:}

While Jade was on her way to drop Cat off, Andre was walking into his grandmothers home. "Grandma, I'm home!" He called out. "I'm back from my week of training. Learned me some good dance moves."

Andre walked through the living room on the way to his room, worried about what might have happened to his grandmother while he was out. Of course, there were people who were supposed to be watching out for her, but they were all strangers. His grandmother didn't do well with strangers.

"You're Harris, right?" A voice called out. The young musician turned agent found himself reacting on instinct, grabbing cover and reaching for his weapons. "Relax, soldier, I'm an ally." The voice was familiar, someone he'd talked too before.

"Show yourself." Andre called out from his place behind the couch.

"Kitchen, talking with Charlotte here." The voice said. Andre slowly made his way to the kitchen, staying low just in case.

"ANDRE, THERE'S A MAN HERE TO SEE YOU!" His grandmother screamed. "HE HELPED ME DEAL WITH THE MONSTERS THAT INFESTED MY CLOSET."

By this point, Andre had made his way to the kitchen, and could clearly see his grandmother and the man she was talking too. He was an older man, white, middle height, in a dark suit. His entire bearing screamed cop, or teacher. There was something about this man's cool composure that seemed to place Andre's normally paranoid grandmother at ease. Andre also noted his right hand was some kind of prosthetic.

"It was just a few stuffed animals, various colors, that someone must have got at a carnival of some kind. They'd probably stored them in the closet, then forgot." The man said. "Nice to meet you face to face. I'm Phil Coulson, Director of SHIELD. I was having some of my people check on Charlotte here, but she needed a calmer presence. So I dropped by from time to time, when I'm in the area."

"Thanks." The musician said as he stood up to his full height. "So, you're the man in charge? You needed to talk to me? Why not just call? You have my number."

"First, like I said, Charlotte takes a special hand. Many of my agents wouldn't know how to handle her requests. But if we're being honest, I'm here because it's time for you to choose. Your resent training, the stuff Steve, Captain America, arranged for you with that SHIELD tech I sent your way, made it clear to us how valuable you could be in the field." The experienced agent told the young man. "You've got good skills, know that sometimes you need to talk things out, and I still don't know exactly what those weapons do."

"It's just sonic stuff." Andre explained. "I'm sure your scientists knew everything they could do before you sent them my way."

"Well, Charlotte here doesn't know, and we're both anxious to hear how they work." Phil said. The older woman stayed unusually quiet, enjoying her tea. "Maybe start by telling us how you were able to make theme work?"

"Not much to tell." Andre said. "I have a hell of an ear for music, and the sonic modulator, the key device of this whole set of tools, is based not only on sound, but on how the sound is used. It's connected to a few small devices that work on sound. Like the sonar unit. It's like the sonar used by the navy. Sends out pings of ultrasonics, but the variances of the echo can tell a lot. I have a dedicated micro-computer that stores what I learn, but I still have to put the initial learning in. The sonars ultra-low frequency changes based on the mass of objects, as well as their composition. That lets me identify whats around me based on a whole lot of data coming in. The computer then stores what I learn, allowing me to tell the difference between a wall, a car, and an elephant. That means I can operate in the dark, or if for some reason I lose use of my sight. Gives me a good idea of whats going on three hundred and sixty degrees around me too. So I can carry smoke, or paint, and use them if I have too, while still being able to fight, or rescue people. Very cool. I can even give each of the people I know about a distinctive sound, based on their unique makeup. And if I can catch the baddies before things go dark, label them based on their unique signature to the ultra-sonic pulses, I'll even be able to see who is or isn't a threat after. That makes this useful all on it's own"

"You mean there's more?" Coulson asked. "And you were able to make that work for you?"

"It takes a really good ear for sound." The musician admitted. "You have to have trained for that for years. It's like being able to hear that one of the secondary violins in an orchestra is off key."

"That refined." Phil said. "I see. So, I guess you're the man for that equipment."

"Yep." Andre said. "But thats not the only thing keyed to the sonic generator. My bracers can generate focused sounds, but only over a limited distance. Makes my punches that much harder, and can be used to make a nerve strike more effective. Basically, it enhances my abilities in hand to hand, or gives me a bit of distance with it, maybe a couple of yards before it falls off. Just enough to get the edge. Then I have a gun that uses the generator, and they even made it look like a normal gun. High frequency sound wave, a pulse of force that can stun, or kill."

"So the whole thing is a suit of abilities that all rely on the small generator, and your understanding of sounds." The director of SHIELD said. "Interesting. And you've mastered it?"

"I'm getting there." Andre said. He was still on edge, not liking dragging his grandmother, or any member of the Harris side of the family, into SHIELD business. Still, this was Director Coulson, the head of shield. Plus, his grandmother was calm around this man. Or as calm as could be expected. "Need a bit more to make it to code name level, but I'm hoping. Got a couple of more potential gadgets to try out as well"

"Might get there sooner then you think." Coulson said. "The rocket that hit the theater you were performing at, it contained a version of the Terrigen mists. Do you know what that is?"

"No idea." Andre admitted.

"Normally you wouldn't have the clearance to know," Phil started, "But I'm gonna need you sooner then I'd have wanted. So listen closely. I'm assigning you a training officer to help complete your training. I know, usually it takes a while before the cadet is even recommended for this part, but you've been training all your life. I had great respect for Trip, agent Triplet. Also, Captain America himself has endorsed you. That carries a lot of weight. So what I'm about to tell you doesn't get repeated to anyone who lacks clearance, got it?"

"Yes sir." Andre said. 'I should salute, right?' He asked himself. But it was time to listen, focus, cause lives could be on the line.

Coulson continued. "The Terrigen mists was part of experiments done to humans several millenia ago. Thats thousands and thousands of years, in case you didn't know. The ones who were doing it were an alien race known as the Kree. The other part of the experiments was putting some kind of reactive element in the genetics of the humans they tested. That element is still carried in the descendants of those humans, and can still react to the mists. But one thing I must be clear about, these were military experiments, aimed at making weapons. Anyone who had those hidden genes in them would be altered by the mists, given powers and abilities, turned into some kind of weapon."

The director took a breath to give Andre a chance to ask questions. "Now, not everyone exposed to the mists were changed. And unlike the mists on earth, which were grown with a protective alien metal around them, these seem to be purer, thus having no effect on those who weren't born with that genetic alteration. As for who might have the predisposition, it's not that wide spread a group, but affects all races. You follow?"

"Yes sir." Andre said. "So, how rare is this trait? Was anyone in the theater affected?"

"We know about a couple, and have assigned an agent, level five, to watch over them. He'll be arriving withing the next week, and will also be your training officer. He'll have more details on what we're looking for. But some of your classmates were affected, and we also want you to be there just in case." The director said, his voice sounding heavy.

"You want me to spy on them?" Andre asked. "People who could well be my friends, and you want me to spy on them? Maybe take them down if they become a threat?"

"I'm asking you to support the agent we'll be assigning in watching them." Coulson corrected him. "The Inhumans, thats anyone born with this trait, are allies of ours. We expect them to do a fair amount of the policing of there own. However, that doesn't change the fact that Hydra had kidnapped a few of theirs, performing experimentation and disposing of the bodies afterwords. These people will need you to be there for them, to keep an eye out for them, in case someone else discovers their abilities and tries to exploit them." The older man held Andre with his eyes. "Also, so you understand our relationship with the Inhumans, one of my best agents is one of them. Was infected by the mists, and we relied on their people to help the agent learn how to use their abilities. We may have others who get recruited."

"So I'm there to help them?" Andre clarified.

"If necessary." The director said. "Look, son, I know how scary this situation can be. I worked with the Avengers project, getting it off the ground. I know what the Hulk can do. I've seen it with my own eyes. Our job isn't to restrict them any more then needed, just make sure that allowances are made that allow them to live as normal lives as possible. With luck, you'll never be asked to do anything involving them. I can't guarantee that an asset as valuable as you won't be used, nor can I say for sure that you'll never find yourself going up against one of your friends. I'm just saying we're doing everything we can to prevent that from happening."

The musician gave a heavy sigh. "All right, who am I watching." Dre asked, feeling his stomach turn.

"Not telling unless you agree to my rules." Coulson said. "I want to be sure they get to live as normal a life as possible. They can be in show business, be stars, but not because of their powers. We clear?"

"Crystal." Andre said. "But I need to know who I'm watching, cause I'm not sure I could put down one of my friends."

"I'm not asking you too." Phil reassured the young man. "I'm asking you to back up the agent we assign. You may even wind up helping them. I have a strong investment in letting the Inhumans control their own. We understand each other?"

"Yea, we do." Andre said. "I think I understand, Sir"

"Good, cause I still don't like telling you their names." Coulson replied. "I'm only doing this because the agent we've selected, is rather one of two finalists, with one being selected as soon as possible. But until we make that selection the advisory counsel felt that we need an agent in place." The experienced agent hesitated, making sure Andre was ready. "The Inhumans we know about are Katrina and Victoria Vega, as well as Erwin Sikowitz."

Andre felt his stomach drop to his feet. "Tori's one of my best friends." He said. "And Sikowitz is my favorite teacher." Then looking at the senior agent, adding, "What can they do?" Dred pushed his stomach even further into the ground. 'My friends are freaks.' He worried.

"Sikowitz is the interesting one." Coulson said, not bothering to worry about Charlotte being their. "He can read the abilities of others. Presumably that mostly works with the inhumans, but it may work with others with unusual or enhanced abilities. As for the Vega sisters, I know, but I'm not supposed to. I'll leave it to you to find out."

"Got it." Andre said, feeling his world continue to spin out of control. "Anything about any of the other of my friends? Is Sinjin really a mad scientist? Can Robbie do something? What about Jade?"

"Don't know." Phil said. "Maybe Sikwoitz does, or maybe the agent we assign will find out. We will just have to wait and see how this plays itself out."

"Great." Andre said. "You're not worried that grandma might give things away?"

"Nahh," The top SHIELD agent said. "Charlotte here is better at keeping secrets then most people." With that, the director got up to go. "I have other business in the area, something to check out. As your training is completed, and you gain additional security clearance, we'll let you know."

"I'm just auxiliary, right?" Andre asked as he showed the other man out. "No badge?"

"Your a cadet now." Coulson said. "Complete your training, listed to your training officer. I suspect you'll make level one before you know it. And if your given a code name, or put on a special team, you might even slip outside the whole level system. But for now, no badge." With that, the experienced agent left.

"HAY ANDRE!" The older woman screamed. "ALIENS ARE INFECTING THE WORLD! WE NEED MORE BUTTER!"

"True that." The young man said. Then he sighed. 'Please don't let Jade be one of those Inhumans.' A cold chill went down his spine.

Robbie arrived home with no particular fanfare. His sister was waiting for him, but that was because she'd intended for him to watch her butterflies while she went and had fun with her friends. His father's only reaction was disdain. "You were gone? I should have noticed the lack of failure in and around this house." Robbie just shrugged and walked past.

It wasn't like his father, or mother, cared that much about him. His sister cared. She just didn't know how to show it. Not in a family where you had to earn whatever affection they might ration out. No, she was as cold as the others. Only her pets were allowed to see her warmth. Robbie, even Rex, had been concerned at how the girl was slowly losing that warmth to the cold of the family.

Robbie thought about calling his grandmother, talking to her. She loved him. She tried setting him up with Jewish girls, girls he never really liked, but that was out of love. 'Jewish girls and Rabbi's, they meddle.' He told himself. It was bittersweet.

He passed where his mother was sitting with his sister. The older woman was talking to the girl about how important it was for her to achieve something. "Anything, really." The woman said. "Your father works hard to keep us in the level of luxury we have, and it would be wrong to not thank him by being..." She just glanced at Robbie. In his pack, Rex tensed. The wave of hurt amplified the hatred the puppet felt for most of humanity.

Robbie wanted to call his grandfather, tell the old man about his trip. He'd gone to the holy land, stood in Jerusalem. Robbie'd seen many of the holy pilgrimage sights, and it was all on his uncles dime. But the boy didn't say a word, allowing Rex to have more influence on him.

The entire flight back, the puppet had reminded Robbie how his grandfather, the supposed Kabbalic scholar, had abandoned interest in him once the boy failed to progress. "He's just like everyone in your family. You earn love. What have you ever done to deserve love? I mean, it's clear to see why Cat doesn't want to go out wit you. She likes you, but even she can see your a failure just waiting to happen."

Rex now wore a clay crown, painted to look more regal. It was a piece of the original golem. It didn't give Rex more power, like he'd hoped, but it did allow him, them, far more range, while opening more of Robbie's power for his own use. The only way Rex could use this new power was to coerce Robbie into supporting whatever the mad puppet wanted to do, combining their efforts to greater effect. It was also the reason Rex had no desire to talk to Robbie's grandfather.

The old man was a dabbler, but even a dabbled knew far more then Rex ever wanted Robbie to know about the worlds and powers of the mystic. 'At least he failed to become what his own grandfather was.' Rex assured himself. The puppet was extra grateful that Robbie's family connection to the world of the spirits had given it the ability to grow, becoming stronger, all under the eye of a man who should have taken his own training seriously. One exorcist, like Jesus was rumored to have been, and the Golum spirit in Robbie would have been bound, redirected to power the boys own mystic training. Instead of bring there for the boy, the old man had given him to the malevolent spirit, merged with Robbie's own self hatred.

Robbie had plenty of time the entire trip home to nurse his hatred, his loneliness, even his dislike for his uncle. The older man had brought Robbie there in hopes the boys abilities could help him recover some treasure before the expedition they were on had a chance to find it. Then, instead of belonging to the state, it would have been salvage, belonging to him. Rex had agreed, sparing the mans life when it had the chance to kill him just to keep Robbie feeling powerless. The puppet recovered a piece of the original golem from the already found artifacts, made it into a crown with the Hebrew symbol for life on the inside, and the greedy man got a small fortune. As far as the spirit was concerned, it had paid for the crown. Now it deserved the power they were going to have.

The walk from the bus stop wasn't that bad, so Robbie was able to calm down from the anger he'd been feeling. How his family wouldn't even acknowledge that he'd gone on a pilgrimage, and welcomed him home. They didn't even bother to pick him up at the airport. But now that he was home, he saw movement in his peripheral vision. It was where he stored Goonter. 'There's nothing there. I got rid of that puppet. Rex is the only puppet in my life.'

Rex knew Robbie had rejected that spirit, the helpful, kind part of himself that wanted to be a hero. But it also knew the damned puppet had absorbed a bit of the original spirit of the golem, the spirit that was a guardian. It was able to reconstruct itself too, and with the growth of Robbie's power, probably moved itself back here. 'No matter. It's no where near strong enough to stop me now.' Rex laughed.

While visiting Jerusalem, Robbie had also learned that his family was made up of a long line of mystics and exorcists. Fee's for the services they'd preformed had made the family rich, but the money was all in a trust, managed by mystics from around the world. It paid them regularly, enough for all kinds of interesting toys, like his sisters rare butterfly's or his so called "car of tomorrow." It didn't, however, give them enough to live high on and still have those interesting toys. So his family lived in a lower middle class duplex, while everyone had expensive hobbies.

But the money was also supposed to be just in case one or more of them were somehow infused with something from the Yetzirah, the close by astral of the Tree of life, or otherwise was blessed with powers or abilities that would be hard to explain. This was the mystic worlds, the true magics, as opposed to the alien entities that were often mistaken for gods.

Not that Robbie knew anything about that world. His own grandfather had forgotten to learn most of it, feeling that he'd lacked the aptitude for magics. Instead, the family had allowed itself to forget. This was what helped Rex become the first golen in the families long history to have free reign over the host. Of course, it wouldn't be the first to cause misery or destruction, just the first to have the power to do that over the desires of the host. But Rex wasn't worried. The demented puppet was slowly corrupting Robbie, even as it pulled at his hatred of how his family treated him. Hatred of the bullies who picked on him. So much hatred to feed the spirit of Rex Powers, the coolest bully of them all.

And Rex, he could be persuasive. He whispered into Robbie's thoughts how, with this power, he could make any girl his. "Just think," Rex would say so that only Robbie could hear him, "You could take Cat, and bury anyone who tried to get in your way. With our powers, we could make the world our bitch. Wouldn't you like to be one of the guys giving out the beatings, instead of fearing what Trina might do to you?"

Robbie could only nod along as he looked around his room. Then, with his thoughts, he reached out to the small bag of rocks he'd gathered along the way. Rex watched as the boy slowly pulled them out, one by one, and shaped them into the form of men. Small stone men, each the size of an army man, walking around the floor. Slowly, Robbie merged them, one by one, until they were one figure about the size of a ken doll. Then he moved his ken sized rock man to his bags, and had it use it's strength to pull the bag to the base of his cabinet.

Rob watched as the rock man put away what it could of his belongings. It was a start. But Robbie could move a lot more weight then that. He didn't know it, but the enhancements Rex wanted were giving Robbie a greater share of the power he'd ceded to Rex so long ago. Even on his own, he could move a lot more now. Almost a hundred pounds. Rex could move so much more, and if he got Robbie to support what he was doing, he'd be even stronger.

And as Robbie watched his rock men move at his command, he envisioned the time when he would be able to use this kind of power to avenge himself on everyone who'd ever hurt him, or humiliated him. 'Cat will be mine, and who knows, maybe Trina as well. I might even get Tori.' Dark thoughts danced in Robbie's head, fueled by Rex's desire for power.

"Tomorrow, at school, is going to be interesting." Robbie told Rex. The puppet just laughed.

"Just be careful of Jade." The puppet cautioned. "We have no idea how much power she has."

"If she gets in the way, we'll have one of our new friends deal with her." Robbie said, high on power.

"Unless she's got the power to stop that." Rex cautioned. 'Jade can hurt me. She might be able to stop the rock men we use. Best to wait, play normal for a bit, find out what she can do. If we're discovered, we play hero. Sides, I want someone else to take the risks, find out what Jade can do. After, once I know we can crush her, I'll take great pleasure in making her my bitch.' Secure in it's plan, the demented puppet spoke again. "Robbie, I may need you to help me with some rituals."

"What rituals?" The puppeteer asked.

"Just something to give the thugs we hire a little extra." Rex said. 'I can't channel spells, but Rob can. But we need to do this carefully. Too much, and he might realize how much power he has. But we can't call on anything else, cause I want him week, and I'm not gonna be a slave to no one, not ever again. But to sacrifice our power, just for a short while, we should be able to make a few short term servants. Then we can test how strong Jade really is.' Rex looked at Robbie. "Just do what I tell you to, read what I tell you to read. We need some stuff from your grandfather. Take me with you when you visit. Then, we need to find us some patsies."

:}

So now the gangs all home. I'm guessing Rex is turning into a bad guy of some sort. The real question is, will I remember Goonter later on?

Okay, I know there are those of you wondering when things will heat up, and I can say I don't know. Give it time, and wait. I'm guessing, sooner or later, things will happen. Until then, review. It lets me know what you're thinking.


	11. Chapter 11 Comming together

Disclaimer: Victorious and it's characters belong to others. I just think them in spandex is a good idea. Oh, yea, I don't one S.H.I.E.L.D. or any other marvel products as well.

:}

It had been a couple of weeks since semester break, and Andre had figured out something about his friends. While he had been asked to watch Tori and Trina, they weren't the only one's hiding things. Only what his friends were hiding, that remained a mystery. Jade and Beck were back to being friends, but he wasn't trying to pursue her, and she seemed to accept that. Cat just smiled a knowing smile at everyone. And them all just disappearing, not talking to one another during the entire semester break, that screamed something was up. They'd taught him not to trust coincidence, to always look beneath the surface. Now he wanted to know what was going on. Besides, some of their behaviors were notably different.

Some of his friends, he understood. Like how Tori, Trina and Sikwoitz were all Inhumans. He'd asked the crazy teacher to look at his friends, but there was either interference, or casual looks didn't tell the coconut lover anything. Andre, and Mal for that matter, hadn't gained any new insight into the possibility that some, or all of the others in the so called "Main People" had extraordinary abilities. Andre desperately wanted to know what they were hiding, and where they went on break.

Only Robbie seemed to to have his story straight. The boy talked a lot about trading some help at an excavation sight in Israel for a chance to go to the holy lands. But the trip may not have agreed with the nerdy boy, who seemed more tired then usual, dragging himself around instead of his usual peppy stride. It wasn't all the time, Robbie would seem to recover, then be exhausted again, over and over until he got over whatever was draining him. And when asked, he'd say "Worst case of jet lag I've ever had." Like that explained almost two weeks of this cycle.

Still, Robbie's explanation, and his seeming lack of energy, was more normal then Jade, who now seemed almost tireless. Like Cat, she seemed to have excess energy, taking on side projects to burn it off. Andre watched, asked around, making sure that none of his friends were taking drugs. When it came back that, to the underworld around Hollywood arts, none of then used, Andre noted the change and kept his eyes open. Neither Jade nor Cat had any explanation other then "I just wanted to do a little extra project."

Beck, meanwhile, seemed to have a new focus about him. It distracted him, making him less available. But at the same time, he was energized. His grades didn't suffer, but part of that was Sinjin was now spending even more time around the popular boy, sometimes even tutoring Beck. The sudden shift was noticed by almost everyone. Adding to that was the lack of a girlfriend. Beck had free time, now that he'd pulled out of a couple of his commitments. But whatever he was doing with his time wasn't obvious. 'Maybe he has a job?' Andre wondered. 'But his family is so well off...'

Andre met with Mal regularly, both to practice and to give reports. "You know, it's possible that Beck and Jade were emotionally dragged down by their relationship. Both of them had invested a lot into being with one another. It's possible, even probable, that now that they're comfortably broken up, both of them are just feeling better. Or they're distracting themselves." Mal explained.

"Except I don't think thats it." Andre said. "Both of them changed, after the incident at the Harrison Theater. I think I need to confront them, see if maybe there's something going on."

"Meanwhile, I'm looking into this Guardian guy who has been paroling the streets in the bad parts of town." Mal said. "Glow-y field around him, beating up guys who are trying to mug other guys, sounds like the kind of guy we should be looking at. I know, not part of our original assignment, but sometimes things change."

"Sure." Andre said. "Just, I hope this doesn't cause us problems, later on."

Across town, Rex wasn't happy. "These are the best goons we could find?" He asked Robbie. They were in an abandoned building, with Robbie standing as the front man. The thugs were all toughs Rob had found through a tough who tried to mug him earlier that week. The nerdy boy had offered him cash per enforcer brought, while using his abilities to bring a small rock man into being to incapacitate the punk. Now, with half a dozen men standing there, Rex questioned the value of these thugs.

"It's not like I know how to hire henchmen." Robbie said. "With Hydra in hiding, these were what I could get my hands on."

"Please tell me you were smart enough to lie to them." Rex begged.

"Told them I was hydra, and that this project was need to know." Robbie said. "They believed me. And being able to move the rock man, small as he was, gave me the edge I needed. Now, we do have the cash for this, right?"

"Of course not!" Rex chided. "By taking the talisman that gives them power, they each accept a compulsion to obey me. Now hand out the powers, so we can get this over with."

Robbie nodded, and walked over to where the toughs were standing, talking to each other. Even men like these, who were trying to make their way into enforcer positions in a criminal organization, were socializing, within the limits of their gang affiliations. Rob suspected, if they failed to pay, the gang members would take each other out, and probably him as well.

"Okay, each of you takes one of these, and you wear it, under your cloths. As long as you do, you will have power." The nerdy boy said. "Each power is borrowed from nature, and gives you an edge. With them, you will have the ability to take whatever we want, and no one can stop us."

The thugs murmured among themselves as each took one. Rex felt it, how more then one of them contemplated taking two or more of the talisman, but then the compulsion to obey took hold and they passed the remaining talisman to the others. Then with half a dozen agents, Rex gave his orders.

"Okay, what we want you to do is simple." Rex said. "On that sheet of paper, there's an address. I... We want you to attack it tonight. There will be six to seven teenagers there, three guys and the rest girls. You take the girls, and if the guys try and stop you, you do whatever it takes to get past them. Anyone tries to stop you, you put them down, hard."

"Wait, I don't want the guys hurt." Robbie said in a low voice.

"It's okay, I doubt they'll do anything stupid." Rex assured his friend. 'This will eliminate one of them, either Beck or Andre. Not what I'd wanted, but someone's gotta die to help isolate Rob here. And then, we'll see what, if anything, Jade can do." The puppet smiled at the thought. And it would be front row center during the attack, safe because no one would expect Robbie to try and stop these men.

By the time they met, later that night, Mal had found out about the plan, just not the details. His contacts on the street knew someone had been hiring thugs, and one of the thugs had told his friends that he was part of some operation going down. Mal's contact had even gotten he address by getting his hands on the thugs copy of the instruction sheet. Andre explained it to the Vega sisters. "Some guy hired some goons of the street to come snag you two, and probably Cat and Jade. Not sure what for, but it can't be good. S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't have much in the way of manpower to spare, so we've alerted the local police. Still, I'm gonna bring some gear, just in case. If things go down, get your parents outta there, and let me handle this."

"Got it." Trina replied.

"That is, unless you have some kickin powers that might help us." The musician continued. "But you don't need to. I got this. Just...Make sure Beck doesn't get hurt trying to save me. I'm a trained fighter."

The sisters agreed, and made plans to get their family out of there in an emergency... easy enough to do with both parents out on a date night anyways. So the sisters prepared for the gangs arrival, trying not to seem too nervous. "S.H.I.E.L.D.'s got this, right?" Trina asked.

"Hope so." Tori said. "But we may need to do something to keep people safe. Do you think someone knows?"

"If it's Hydra, then yea." Trina said. "They were a part of S.H.I.E.L.D. for who knows how long. I wouldn't put it past them to still have spies in the organization. Lets, lets be ready."

A short time later, as the sisters were debating how best to get everyone to safety, Jade and Cat arrived. They were the first, there before even Andre, who'd gone to get his gear. "So, doesn't Tori look, um, happy tonight?" Cat asked her friend. It seemed to be some kind of code that only the two friends understood.

"Happy?" Tori asked her sister.

"I don't know." Trina replied, looking out the windows for any possible trouble.

"Hi Vega, older Vega." Jade said. "I suppose you do look... Happy."

"Thanks." Tori replied. Trina just nodded.

Andre arrived almost on Cat and Jade's heels. "Hi, sorry I'm late, but it took longer to set some chiz up then I thought it would." He was wearing loose, baggy shirts over dark pants.

"New girlfriend?" Jade asked. Cat laughed at that.

"Oh Andre, the grass is always greener." Cat said. "Not sure what that means, or how greener grass affects a boys desires, but thats what my mother would say. That is, if she were here. She's still in Idaho, with my brother." Cat sighed. "But it's okay, I'm happy. Just not in the same way Tori is happy. I'm more of a cute happy."

"..." Andre tried, he really tried, to understand what she just said.

"You probably don't want to know." Trina said, and led him into the living room. They decided to watch something until the gang was all there, then play cards.

A short time later, Beck showed up with Robbie. "Gave someone a ride." The handsome actor said.

"Like we needed that announced." Jade snapped.

"All right Jade, whats up?" He asked his ex. "You're usually more snarky then this."

"Just drop it." Jade said, and went back to watching TV. Tori got up to get the table ready for the card game, and Beck took that opportunity to drop his large duffel bag near by.

"Whats with the bag?" Andre asked.

"Sinjin and I are working on a project." Beck said. "I was picking something up for him."

"Oh." The musician said.

Despite the banter, they managed to settle down and start playing poker. Tori insisted that Trina play with them, counting on as much support as Andre could give. However, Jade wasn't her normal oppositional self, happy to have the seventh person playing cards with them. Beck was the one to notice how everyone seemed distracted. Even Cat wasn't playing to her normal level of skill. For far too long, multiple people were nervous. It was like everyone had something on their minds.

Then they heard the gunshots. "Crap, this is it." Andre said out loud. Everyone stopped playing as the sounds of a fire fight slowly came closer and closer. "Everyone, stay in here, I'm going to go help out." The musician said. He moved towards the door, shedding cloths to reveal some kind of mission suit underneath.

"Crap." Beck said, picking up his duffel and heading to the bathroom.

"That was...Odd." Jade said, but she saw Tori heading out to help Andre, who was probably outmatched by whatever. "Tori, I mean... Crap." The goth followed Tori out to see what was going on.

What Andre saw wasn't good. The police were getting ripped appart, and he didn't have a clear idea of what was doing it to them. So he tried to get to the surviving police, but was cut off by some thug waiting in ambush. The thug was more then human, sticking to walls like a lizard. (There was a difference.) The thug was trying to use his sticky spit to catch Andre, but the musician was too quick for him. However Andre couldn't get past the lizard guy to stop the others who were advancing on the house, let alone help the police who were desperately trying to do anything to deter the advancing thugs. Nor could he beat his opponent. He was too distracted by trying to figure out how to keep everyone safe, save the police and get his friends out of a situation that was far more dire then he originally predicted. 'We was underestimated these guys.' He thought. He was so caught up in trying to figure out how to get an edge, anything to save lives, that he didn't hear the screech from above until it was almost too late...

Then he was standing about five feet away from where he had been, as the bat thing flew past, Baring empty claws that could well have been covered in his blood. Glancing around, he saw Trina next to him, and the thugs closing in on the house were now clearly in view., just a short distance away. It was time to fight, but first he took inventory of what they were up against.

In addition to the lizard and the bat, there was one who seemed to be made of stone, and other who was on fire, but only in an open jacket like form around his arms and back. Then there was the second flier, who was surrounded by a personal whirlwind. Finally, there was the guy who moved quickly, not so fast as to be a blur, but too fast for the authorities to keep up. Leaping upwards of a dozen feet at a time, his kicks had left more then one officer laying on the ground, either hurt, unconscious, or dead.

"Trina, get the wounded out of here, and if you can, keep those guys busy until I can thin the odds. First priority are the elementals." Andre announced as the others raced out to help. A blur shot past him towards the leaper, grabbing the much slower thug and spinning him around. Even as Tori engaged her chosen foe, Cat and Jade flew out to help. Cat was encased in a golden field, while Jade's right hand was glowing a reddish glow. "Okay, no one do anything until..." Andre dodged another spit of glop as Jade and Cat, both fast fliers, reached their opponents.

Cat chose to attack the whirlwind guy, but was totally unaware of what, if anything, he could do beyond fly. So when he pointed at her and a swirling bolt of wind launched her way, she wasn't ready to react. Instead, the twisting winds knocked her spinning towards the ground. She landed hard, and while she was shaken by the pulse and the landing, her glowing field must have absorbed a lot f the impact, cause she looked up and cursed a fairly clean curse at her foe. The small then girl slowly got up, keeping her eyes on the fliers. Her field intensified, quickly building up for her second launch into battle.

Jade flew up to the earthen guy, now almost seven feet tall and about four feet thick in any of the remaining two dimensions, and threw a punch. She'd encased her hand in her bio-energy, like she'd done when she tried to break her fall. Only this time, the force was heading away from her body. The blow hit like a howitzer shell, the rock exploding outward, shrapnel glancing off the goths skin, tearing her cloths and embedding in the surroundings. The man encased in the foot plus of stone was staggered, thrown back, hitting the ground a few yards from where Jade had struck him. He managed to get to his feet, repositioned by the reforming stone that flowed around his body to once more encased him, but he was moving slowly.

Andre concentrated on taking down the lizard guy, using his opponents moments against him. The guy stuck to trees, walls, whatever. Andre landed a few shots at a short distance, thanks to his sonic modulator, then when the guy tried leaping to another tree, snagged him and threw him to the ground. From there, three quick nerve strikes ended that fight. He wanted to help the others, but in the moments it took him to survey the battlefield, he could see who needed help. It wasn't his friends.

Cat had once again risen to challenge the whirlwind guy, opening up with a pulse of golden force that punched through the deflecting winds, and caved in part of the mans ribs. The first flier fell, and Cat abandon the second flier to catch the falling man. She'd spend the rest of the combat making sure he didn't expire from his wound.

Jade was fighting the stone guy, and was clearly stronger. The thug inside was hurting from her first punch, unable to mount any meaningful offense as he covered up his body with as much stone as he could to absorb Jade's now non-enhanced punches. He was crumbling under her onslaught. He wouldn't last, as the force of her blows reverberated through the stone, chipping away at the outside while shaking his insides within an inch of his life. His fight was quickly fading, as well as his consciousness. Andre knew that guy would need medial attention after the fight, just to survive. Remembering what he'd learned about her from their shared past, he knew Jade was likely to kill the man if someone didn't tell her not too. "Jade, when he falls, help the others." He called before checking on them.

Tori wrapped up her foe. The leaper was quick, she was fast. He couldn't keep up with her, so she used that to her advantage. Wrapping him up in whatever rope like stuff she could find, she ended her fight and went to check on the police. Her opponent was tied, bound and gagged buy the stray rope Tori had recovered. Somewhere nearby, someone was missing a cloths line.

Trina had engaged the flame thrower, popping in and out, staying just out of reach while trying to direct his thrown flames towards the pool. Occasionally, if she could, she'd get in a punch or kick. The fire engulfing his body made striking the upper part dangerous. So she attacked his legs. Then while he was knocked to the ground, she snagged his ankle and popped him into the pool, where his fire was doused. She watched him until he pulled himself out, and hit him with her best kick to the head. He dropped. Trina then made sure he was still alive, and didn't slip back into the water.

The remaining flier tried to get away as his teammates were being decimated, only for Beck to finally make it out of the bathroom. The self styled "Guardian" opened up with his rarely used magnetic pulse, and the man bat was knocked to the ground and out of the fight.

Inside, Rex was watching the whole thing. "Well, that was unexpected." He said, looking at the gang as they pulled the now unconscious thugs together. "What were the odds that all of them had powers."

"And you were worried about Jade." Robbie said, smiling. "Looks like all of them are... Super." The boy sounded relieved. That annoyed Rex.

"Bad pun, Rob." Rex said. "Talk to them. Find out, I don't know, HOW?" The puppet fumed. 'That was too fast. My agents took time to empower, even temporarily, and they tore through them in minutes. Weeks of work, weeks of rob and me being almost powerless, and they lasted less then five minutes!'

"Kay kay." The puppeteer agreed.

The friends were standing there, looking at their handiwork. That was, with the exception of Beck, who'd taken advantage of a built in radio to call for an ambulance, and Andre who was looking around at the neighbors, wondering how long until someone looked outside to see what caused the ruckus. "Okay, people, if your not keeping someone alive, please go back to Tori's place. Beck, is that you under the Canadian flag of a suit?"

"Yep." The proud young man said. "Kinda fits me, don't you think?"

"You stay here and monitor them. I'm calling this in, but an ambulance is probably already on the way. Once they, and the police, get here, we're out, got it?" The now commanding young musician said. "Everyone else, get out of here. Now."

"Got it." Beck replied as the others dispersed, heading back to the Vega household.. "I just hope they don't..." He'd never seen the kind of damage that Cat, or Jade, had done to their opponents. Neither had held back, and it showed. "So, when did you learn to fight like that? I mean, I didn't see much, but these guys were strong, and you took one out, just like that."

"I've been in training almost from diapers." Andre pointed out. "I'm probably the best hand to hand fighter in the group, but not the only one. Jade's a good fighter, and holy chiz, she's strong. I mean, she was shattering stone with each punch." For that moment, the S.H.I.E.L.D. trained young man lost his cool. But he regained it as the police arrived, guns drawn.

"Okay, listen up." Andre called to the police. "I'm with S.H.I.E.L.D., code name Distortion, and I've, we've apprehended these guys. If any of the guard detail survived, they'll tell you how nasty these guys are. Take them into custody. Many of them need medical attention. I've got some people to debrief."

For several tence moments, the police didn't move, only shifting as the ambulances arrived. Then an officer with some rank arrived and started clearing things up. "Okay, do as the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent tells you." He told the uniformed officers. The sergeant then addressed the two costumed young men. "I'm assuming one of you is Distortion? I'm under orders to follow your lead. Not easy, given you can't be over twenty."

"My age doesn't mater, what does is we were subjected to an attack. Get these guys the help they need, but under guard. Call S.H.I.E.L.D., tell them this is the group I've contacted them about, and when our team shows up, step back. I have..." Andre was cut off.

"People to debrief. I get that." The sergeant said. "My men, apparently many of them are already at the hospital. Some popped in, others were carried in in a blur. I'm assuming thats part of your debriefing."

"I'm afraid thats on a need to know..." The S.H.I.E.L.D. agent hesitated. "Yea, and I need to stay on top of things. Now if you'll excuse me." He looked at Beck.

"Guardian." Beck introduced himself to the officer.

"Right..." Andre said. "Guardian here was gonna give me a lift outta here."

Beck reached over to get a firm grip on the suit Andre was wearing, making sure it would hold, and then flew straight up until he was high enough to avoid being seen. "Okay, how do we get back before people leave? My suit kinda leaves a glowing trail."

"Stop flying, and let me handle things." Andre replied. "I have a gliding field available. Kinda hums, but shouldn't be noticed over the police doing their jobs."

Beck decided to trust his friend. But he knew, once they gathered again, either tonight at the Vega's home, or later, one by one or in a group, he wanted answers. 'Starting with Jade...'

:}

There you have it, everyone has shown their cards. That is, except for Robbie, who was behind this attack. Now, what will they talk about, I wonder.

So, thoughts, comments, or praise, (I take praise), leave it in the review.

Till next time.


	12. Chapter 12 Explinations and lies

Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel, it's characters, nor Victorious and it's characters. They do go together fairly well though.

:}

Inside the Vega residence, Cat and Jade sat down to wait for the missing boys, thoughts lost in the fight that just happened. Tori and Trina, however, were in and out, both using their abilities to help where they could, then rushing to fix things up so the house would look normal. Mostly, they were trying to keep busy, waiting for Andre to get back while avoiding uncomfortable questions. It was dizzying to the others. Cat and Jade seemed to be able to follow, kinda, what was going on. Cat because of a targeting computer that kept the Vega sisters marked when in sight, and Jade because she could feel the shift in energy when the sisters rushed by or popped in or out.

Adding to the stress was the fact that all the girls wanted to leave, to go someplace far from the chaos that was spinning in their minds. Even the sisters wanted to pop out of there to someplace safe, far from weird thugs with powers. But they felt like some kind of explanation was due, so they stayed. Maybe they were dreading giving it, or maybe they were just waiting for the missing people who obviously had their own stories, but they stayed, waiting, amidst the dizzying busy work the sisters were doing. For almost ten minutes, they sat, or moved, but remained silent before the front door opened and Beck and Andre returned. "Okay people, explanation time. Robbie, you didn't have to stay."

"I, for one, feel we have as much right as anyone else here to know what the chiz is going on." Rex demanded.

"I said we could leave, but he insisted." Robbie said, trying not to offend. "Although I'm kinda curious about how you all came to be so... I don't know. Did it have anything to do with what happened at the Harrison?"

"Not exactly." Tori started. "Trina and I, we were what that attack was meant to cause, but Trina had already been, um, caused?" Tori wasn't sure what to say.

"Long time ago, thousands of years, aliens mucked with the DNA of some people, and some of their descendants have that DNA muckery." Andre tried to explain.

"And you know this how?" Robbie asked. Rex seemed to be watching intently.

"I'm with S.H.I.E.L.D." The musician said. "Trained since diapers, and equipped with a code name and special gadgets. I've been asked to keep an eye open for anyone else affected by the mists." He knew that wasn't quite the whole truth, but they didn't need to know that.

"No!" Jade said out of nowhere. Cat had been whispering something in her ear. They engaged in a quiet argument, before Jade huffed.

Cat opened her mouth to say something. "..."

"I'm Asgardian." Jade interrupted her friend. "Kinda sorta, but that gets complicated." She sighed, and continued. "I'm a hybrid, and can fly and do some stuff with my life force, but mostly I'm Thor's niece. Not that you needed to know that."

Rex sat quietly, barely stifling the shudder that overcame his body. 'Jade's a demi-goddes? She can rip me to shreds! Gotta deal with this fast... But how? HOW?' The spirit couldn't remember feeling that much fear in it's long life.

"Thor, as in the Avengers Thor?" Tori asked.

"Yep." Jade said, glancing around at everyone. They were all looking at her. "We're not on the best of terms, but yea, he's my uncle." Jade repeated. 'Please, for the love of theater, don't ask about my dad.'

"And that's why your strong?" Trina asked. Tori was still processing.

"All of my kind are strong." Jade said. "My fathers kind, that is. Not sure how to explain... You know what, I don't have to answer to any of you!" Jade, feeling pressured, was letting her anger bail her out of another situation.

"Jade, calm down." Andre said, taking charge. "We're just figuring out what everyone can do. Tori's fast, while Trina can pop in and out. You're strong, can fly, and who knows what else."

Cat jumped in. "An alien made me into a cyborg, but without all the gross metal plating and such." She stood up so everyone could see. "I can fly, shoot energy pulses, have a force field, that kind of chiz. Oh, when I want to be, I'm strong. Not Jade level strong, but strong." She smiled the whole time, mostly towards at Jade. "And oh yea, no scars." She added, showing off her clean limbs. "I look like a typical cute girl with velvet cupcake hair. And Oh yea! He even gave me nanite hair color shifting, because I asked for that. Save's me on hair dye. But maybe you didn't want to know the last part."

"You're part machine?" Robbie asked, kinda fascinated.

"It's not like it sounds." Cat explained. "He said a bunch of sciencey stuff, and told me that I wasn't like what people think of as a cyborg, with bionic limbs and that kind of chiz. Just bio-mechanical enhancements along with quantum computer nodes to process the energy flow, and all kinds of other things I don't remember." She smiled at him. "But I'm mostly human. Except for the parts that aren't."

"Right." Rex said.

"Lets not lose focus here." Tori said. "Jade's some kind of alien super warrior, right? I mean, thats weirder than alien mucked DNA, right?"

"Thanks, I wasn't feeling enough like a freak." Jade said, looking wazzed.

"No one cares what your DNA is like, or how freaky you are." Andre cut in. "We're trying to get a grip on what everyone is. Now, Beck is in some kind of suit. Is that just a costume, or is it the source of your powers? Or maybe Beck got changed by the mists too."

"Sinjin made me this neat suit." Beck replied.

"And you broke the first rule." Andre said quickly. "Beck, we're all friends here, but our abilities, yours and mine, include gadgets that can be taken away. So the first rule is, don't just spurt the name of your gadgeteer. Luckily, no one is listening in, cause we don't want someone kidnapping him and forcing him to make the bad guys weapons. That would be bad."

Beck spent a moment feeling chastised, and ran pulled his mask off to run his hand through his hair. "It's powered by the earths magnetic field, and some other stuff I don't really understand. But it lets me fly, enhances my strength, and has a few weapons." The Canadian said. "It also lets me tunnel, which is kinda useful."

"But the control unit's in the mask, cause you took it off and your still moving just fine." Andre observed.

"It's attuned to my body somehow. Without the mask, I lose the ranged weapons, tunneling, and visual input for the sensors, as well as the radio. But everything else works fine." The Canadian explained.

"So far, the girls are the only freaks in the group." Rex blurted.

"Hay!" Trina said, glaring at the puppet.

"Lets not lose sight of Jade." Tori said again. "She said she could fly, was strong, and could do other stuff. What other stuff?"

"I don't fully know." Jade said, glaring back at Tori. "There's this energy that my body absorbs, that no other Asgardain except my brother has, and it enhances my life force. Makes me more. Stronger, more resilient, able to fly. And I can use it. I used it to enhance my first punch. And I have no idea what I can do with it. But I feel your energy, more then see it, I feel it, and your all different. I can't exactly target with this feeling, but I know when your using your powers."

"Oh." Tori said, not sure she wanted that level of explanation, just she wanted to know more about Jade.

"Rob?" Cat asked.

"Just another human here." The nerdy boy said. "Of course, if Sinjin were to make me a cool suit of armor like Becks, maybe I could help. Or two suits. One for me, one for Rex."

"I'm more of a helps from the sidelines kinda hero." Rex chirped in. 'What is this loser up to now?'

"Maybe I could have a cool suit like yours, Beck." Robbie continued.

"Not a good idea." Beck replied. "There was a lot that went into this suit, more then you's probably be ready for. But I'll talk to him, see what he can come up with."

"In the meantime, I suggest we talk about what that attack means." Andre said. "Someone wants Tori and Trina, probably knows about their Inhuman blood. Add in the fact that, despite our best efforts, there are gonna be people who know about the fight, what they saw people doing, and we're almost assured that someone somewhere is going to take an interest. I suggest we agree to train together. I'll contact S.H.I.E.L.D., see about setting up some kind of base for us. We train, work out how to use our abilities, function as a team. Then, when they come looking for us, we'll be ready."

"And who's Gonna lead us? You?" Jade asked, her voice hinting at her disdain of the idea.

"Jade?" Cat's tone was a warning.

"I might not like it, but I'm a fucking princess." Jade continued.

"Please tell me thats just in her head." Trina quipped. Tori was vigorously nodding her agreement.

"Sorry, but if she really is Thor's niece, then according to what S.H.I.E.L.D. knows, she's a princess." Andre replied. Then to Jade "But in the Avengers, Thor followed Cap's lead."

"You're hardly Captain America." Jade sneered.

"You're right, he's a lot taller." Andre said, staying calm. He knew that this was one fight he wasn't going to win by losing his head. "But I have trained with him. Even have his number on my work phone. I could call him, if I have too. But who you know doesn't make a good team leader. Cap leaders cause he's a soldier, he thinks tactically. When we were training, as he helped me work out how to use the distortion equipment, we got to talking, him letting me know what a good leader does by example. Out at the Avengers compound, we spent a lot of time thinking of how I could use the equipment in non-obvious ways. He also talked a lot about tactics."

Andre switched tactics, addressing the group again. "Lets look at that fight we just had."

"Kinda one sided." Robbie commented.

"It was, because of how strong some of you are." Andre continued. "But If we didn't overpower that group, or there were a lot of them, we'd have folded. We fought as individuals. Trina thinks in a fight, knows her surroundings, while Jade just knows how to fight. But Cat, and Tori, both of you did what was the first thing that came to mind. Love the rope bit, Tori, but what would you have done if you didn't find a rope? And Cat, when the adrenalin is pumping, you use full force. You didn't hold back, and the guy you fought got hurt."

"Jade didn't hold back." Cat pointed out weakly.

"First, she did." Andre said. "That cool reddish glow thingy, the bio-lifeforce enhancement thingy, she only used that once. I suspect she could have used it again, and ripped the guys insides apart with each blow." He paused to glance at Jade, who barely nodded, but it was enough of a confirmation. "Second, Jade's not you. She was, from what I understand, trained by people who believe taking someone alive is an insult. Prisoners are people who lacked the ability to fight. Jade was trained to kill, something you weren't. I'd rather you fight to capture anyways, just pointing out the differences. Third, there were ways each of you could have helped out, covered each other and maybe others in general. No, we need to work together."

He looked his group of friends over. "Jade, Trina, that includes both of you. I don't care if you are a trained fighter. You won't always have the option of choosing your foe. Sometimes, I'll need you to take on someone else."

"So how could we have fought them differently?" Jade asked, looking at her nails, pretending to be board.

"For starters, until Beck arrived, you and Cat were our fliers." The musician said. "If the bat guy had any ranged weapons, or was a better flier, or ignored us to go after some other objective, then we could have had injuries. The stone guy, he wasn't that quick. We could have finesse him until you cleared the sky. But with two fliers, and only one person trying to cut them off, one could have slipped past, done whatever to whomever. No, fliers first. The stone guy was..." He looked around.

"Yours." He said, pointing at Tori. "You got their quick guy, and he was the best target for you. But you have the speed to engage more then one, like their guy was doing, keep them busy until we clear out the others. Had you been able to distract both of them, Jade could have cleared the skies, and come back to finish off mister Stone."

"O-okay." Tori said, her voice now small.

"This isn't the only possible scenario, I'm just letting you know this could have been very different." Andre continued. "We need communications, intelligence. If we don't know what they can do, then we really need to know what we can. Jade, Cat, Beck, all of you have multiple powers, and can fly. Tori, you're incredibly fast, while your sister can teleport. We need to figure out how to use that maneuverability to our advantage."

"So training?" Beck asked.

"Training." Andre replied. "But first, we need someplace to train. As much as I'd love to use the Ping pong table in the rec room, we all know this kind of training is gonna need a lot more space."

"Maybe S.H.I.E.L.D. can get us something?" Rex asked.

"They could, but I think we kinda wanna have more control over our lives." Trina said, adding "No offense." To Andre.

"None taken." He replied. "I get it. I'm under thumb, but that doesn't mean you all should be too. But if we're not using their money, and we don't have Tony stark providing absolutely ridiculous amounts of cash, how're we supposed to fund the stuff we'll need. I mean, we can get away without a jet, assuming Trina can carry enough, but..."

"I'll call Sikowitz." Tori said. "He has a lot of contacts in the industry. Maybe he can get us some help."

"I'll call my mom's boss." Cat added.

"Don't look at me." Beck said. "Sinjin's dad is kinda tight on the purse strings." Then to Robbie. "But don't worry, I'm sure we'll find something for you."

"Maybe support." Robbie suggested. "Combat adjacent."

They soon were all lost in their individual calls. Minutes passed where Rex was able to take Robbie aside to talk. "Okay Rob, whats up with the suit envy?"

"I just thought, since we're studying them, it'd be easier if I had some kind of powers of my own. I know, the whole moving earth thing is cool, but you saw what they did to the earth guy. Better to have a suit that I can use. Support them, gain their trust, that kind of chiz."

"I don't agree, cause staying that close to them risks us." Rex pointed out. "But for now, it may be the best idea. Stay close, let them think we're still their friends. Then, when we have the chance, we kill Jade."

"Why kill?!" Robbie asked. "I thought we were gonna subjugate her?"

"She's Asgardian." Rex quickly explained. "They tend to forget it, but their heavily mystical, can do a lot of damage to me, us. That makes her the single biggest threat to us. And she's Thors niece. That's begging for the wrong kind of attention, and that means trouble."

"And she's Jade." Robbie pointed out. "Dark, moody Jade. The goth who loves the suffering of others. Maybe we find out what she wants, get it, and use that to bribe her to our side."

"Oh my chiz, when did you start thinking?" Rex exclaimed softly. "Thats a good, but risky, idea. And to do that, we'll need to be close. So yea, lets go with the 'Hope you have a supper suit for me' approach. Who knows, it may help you with your terminal vulnerability. No help for your terminal lameness" Robbie absorbed that blow to his self esteem like he'd done so many times before, and headed back before he was missed.

The puppeter went in just in time to hear the results of the calls. Trina went first. "Okay, from what I could find out, the Inhumans won't fund anything for us. They said to go to S.H.I.E.L.D. if we want to act all hero-y. They also said I couldn't get a discount of minor cosmetic surgery. I know they have access to their own doctors. What use is it if they won't even give me a little discount on some..."

"TRINA!" Tori cut her sister off. "I called Sikowitz, and he's getting in contact with his old collage roommate, Kevin Chase. You remember him, from when we performed as the Didly-bobs?"

"We tried to forget." Jade said.

"Why did we stop being them?" Cat asked.

"Anyways." Tori continued. "With luck, Mister Chace will worry about the rise of global threats, and how they might affect his son, Henry, and give big from all that phat hotel money he has. We're waiting to hear back. In the meantime, Sikowitz can read our abilities, Trina and mine, and helped us figure out our limits. I was thinking, maybe he could work with you guys."

"Wouldn't he have already seen their abilities?" Trina asked.

"Not necessarily." Cat chimed in. "Jade has some kind of cloaking field, my abilities are fairly well hidden when I'm not using them, and Beck and Andre rely on gadgets. He might need to see us in action to get a read."

"Cat!" Jade's voice was barely raised, but still a warning.

"Whaty?" Cat asked.

"Okay, I talked to Cat's mom's boss, and he's open to donating to a fund for a hero team here in LA. But he wants to talk to someone official." Jade said, ignoring Cat's sometimes cluelessness.

"Then we have some cash coming in." Andre said, clapping his hands together. "I'll call someone to make the arrangements. We'll rely on S.H.I.E.L.D. to handle a lot of the basic chiz, like gathering the funds legally and helping us find a place. We'll be our own team, just S.H.I.E.L.D. approved. Their putting together their own team anyways. With luck, we'll be able to get us a building, or some land, and build what we need. Now if y'all don't mind, I think I'm calling it a night. Time to go home and check on my grandmother."

The gang started to disperse after that. But Cat kept thinking of one reason or another to stay behind. "But I need to find that brush. It's Sam's, and you know she gets cranky if her stuff disappears."

"Are you sure you brought it?" Jade asked, again.

"I'm sure... Wait, it's on my bed." Cat proclaimed.

"Then lets get going." Jade huffed.

"Not yet." Cat said, looking at who was left. Tori and Trina lived there, so they had to stay, but everyone else had gone. "Just remember, I'm supposed to be looking out for you." She said nervously.

"Why?" Jade asked, almost whining.

"Tori, could I speak to you about one more thing?" Cat asked the singer.

"Sure." Tori replied.

"Thing is, Jade has something to tell you." Cat continued.

"I do?" Jade asked

"She does?" Tori asked.

"Yes you do, so tell her." Cat whisper yelled, her voice pushing how important this was.

"No!" Jade said.

"Tell her or I will." Cat countered.

"You wouldn't dare." Jade threatened.

"You forget how long I've known you." Cat replied. "I know all you're secrets. Tell her, cause I have pictures from your princess phase."

"Princess phase?" Trina asked.

"Well, she's an Asgardian princess, so naturally her dad used to tell her she was a princess, and as a result, she went through the princess phase. Her mom was nice enough to get me pictures." Cat explained.

"She swore those pictures would never see the light of day." Jade growled, but there was a slight panic in her voice.

"Then everything's good," Cat chirped. "It was evening when she pulled out the photo albums. So I'm thinking the pictures weren't exposed to much daylight."

"Princess?" Tori asked, now clearly amused.

"Forget you ever heard that!" Jade breathed at Tori, her voice full of malice and danger.

"Tell her, or she gets the first album." Cat warned.

"First album?" Trina repeated. "This just gets better and better."

"Cat!" Jade warned.

"This is for your own good." Cat shot back. "Tell her, and we get a response. You can stop the second guessing, and know one way or the other."

Jade glared at her best friend, but like a deer caught in the headlights, couldn't move. 'She may already have an album on her phone. One push of a button, and the whole school gets it.' The goth contemplated stopping Cat. Dark thoughts flowed through her head. But in the end, one fear overcame another. "Tori, I may have, sorta, kinda, have an itcy bitcy crush on you." Her eyes were on the floor, glancing up to see whatever reaction the Latina might give.

"What was that?" Tori asked, both because Jade's voice was so low, and she couldn't believe what she just heard. Jade's heart started to break.

"Jade said she's been crushing on you." Trina clarified. "Good thing too, considering how often you've checked her out."

"TRINA!" Tori screamed.

"Hey, you owe her, considering we know about the princess albums now." Trina said, adding "But seriously, as a girl with a big rack, I know how often boys, and girls, check them out. But between her boobs and her ass, you probably know more about her assets then anyone at school. Hell, there are so few boys willing to get caught looking."

"She's been..." Jade said, processing.

"Looking at your tits." Cat said helpfully. "See, that turned out better then it could have."

"Their not dating yet." Trina pointed out.

"They don't have to be." Cat replied. "Not yet. Give them time. But they both know the others interested now, and they can act accordingly."

"So do you think Tori's gonna ask Jade out, or the other way around?" Trina asked.

"I'm thinking you'll need your version of the princess pictures to blackmail Tori into going out with Jade, but when you do I'll hold up my end." Cat replied. "Don't worry, Jade always forgives me. It just might not be the most fun around her until she does." Then after a moment more, "Any chance I can catch a ride home?"

"Why not?" Trina said. "Tori, I'm taking Cat home. You be good now. And Jade, be gentile. Tori isn't hyper strong and resilient like you are."

Then the door closed, leaving the two young ladies face to face, trying to deal with a bigger shock their their respective powers. Tori opened and closed her mouth, trying to force anything out.

"Princess?" Was all she could say. Jade's responding glare died as she saw the confusion on the Latina's face.

The next day at school everyone could feel the tension. Cat stayed near the guys, talking to them and in general keeping her distance from Jade. However, this time, she wasn't running from the goth. When the black haired girl confronted the petite one, Cat just smiled. "Candy?"

"What was that?" Jade demanded.

"Candy?" Cat asked. "Let me see what kind." She started looking in her bra.

"Not that." Jade said through clinched teeth. "What was that THING you did in front of Vega last night."

"Oh yea." The smaller girl said, smiling. "How'd that work out for ya?"

"I-I..." Jade was almost turning red, but seemed to have developed far more self control then she'd ever shown in the past. Then whisper yelling she addressed her best friend. "You made me tell Tori about the crush, and told her about me dressing like a princess."

"I didn't even mention the dresses you'd worn for your grandmother." Cat replied, looking very calm. "You were what, fifteen then?"

"Cat..." The warning tone wasn't ignored, just not dealt with the way Jade had expected.

"Look, I know you have nothing to worry about. Tori isn't about to spill any of your secrets. And Trina, she's on board with this whole situation." Cat explained, sounding a bit less ditzy then she usually did. "Someone had to do something, cause it was tearing you apart. You and Tori, date or don't. Just, please, for your own mental health, deal with it."

Jade let the matter drop, not knowing what to do about her suddenly complicated life, but sure hurting Cat would have to wait until she'd figured out just what she was going to do about everything else. Instead, she walked over to talk to Beck, and away from Cat who was making far too much sense for her to process. "So, you're playing a hero?" She asked, malice on her mind. She desperately needed someone to feel as awkward as she did.

"It's a roll I didn't seek out." He replied, almost excited. "But it's also one of the most rewarding roles I've ever played. Too bad it's such a covert theater. Uncredited work. But with luck, it could make a huge difference. You should try it."

"I am." Jade replied. "I'm a part of Andre's little project. I expect I'll be playing a hero, all uncredited, just like you are."

"Jade, the rewards are unbelievable." Beck tried to explain. His excitement was becomming painful to the goth, who couldn't remember him ever being that excited about anything she, or they, ever did.

"I have to get to class." Jade said, walking past him. 'How is it he's so happy? I never made him happy. Not like that. No, he's different. They're all... different. Like me different. I don't know. They explained it, and it still doesn't make sense. This...This isn't happening.'

Jade worked her way through her classes as the day progressed, savoring every distraction until she once again found herself trying to make sense of everything. But each time she saw any one of her friends, a knowing look would seem to pass from that person to her. Each one of them understood what had been one of her greatest secrets. 'It's so odd, knowing...' Jade thought.

The only person Jade tried to avoid was Tori. After Cat left, she and Tori had just looked at one another. Neither knew what to do. Mostly because both of them was hoping the other girl would take the lead. Both of them were used to being the pursued in their relationships. It was safer, giving them choices while making sure that the guy took the big risks. Not knowing how to proceed, what to do, Jade had gone home, and Tori to bed. Now they were avoiding one another as much as possible. 'Sooner or later, we have to deal with this.' Jade thought, over and over. 'I just don't know how...'

:}

So... That was a thing. Not my best work, but not my worst. The group is coming together, and understand they are not alone. Tori and Jade know each other are interested, with the biggest hurdle between them that each wants the other to make the first move. Not sure how much more of this is gonna happen, but the story needs to shift, since this is the origin story. Once their together, I'll shift to a sequel. Also, I'm posting faster then I'm writing, so there will be a while before I post the next story in this world.

Comments, questions, pictures of any of the girls in super hero costumes (Or spandex), please use the review button.

Till next time.


	13. Chapter 13 Naming Names

Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious or Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I do, however, like my research projects.

:}

Not sure what her next move was, Jade skipped having lunch with the gang. She understood that it would probably cause rumors to fly. People loved rumors, and the drama it brought. Then there was also the possibility that Andre was planning on using that meal to discus thing with her and the group. But Jade needed to talk to someone, so she could sort her feelings out. With no one left who she felt wouldn't judge her, she decided to contact the one person she knew who would at least accept her without too many questions. "Adam, Nari, I need to talk. When you get this message, please call me back." Jade said into her phone. She hated when she got his voice-mail. 'He's been so busy lately.'

"So whats troubling you, little one?" His voice was right next to her, making her jump just a little. She took the moment to analyze what was before her, sensing what she was dealing with.

'A projection, and only into my mind.' Jade thought, analyzing the situation. She'd walked to the Black Box to make the call, so she was fairly sure she wouldn't be observed. 'Even if someone does see me, I'm just rehearsing for a play. No one's gonna freak out.'

Story set in her mind, the princess looked at her brother. "You wouldn't believe how Janked things have gotten."

"Try me." Nari said. His was wearing casual clothing, setting the image he wanted her to see.

"I was hanging out with my friends, and we were attacked." Jade started.

"Anyone hurt?" Her brother asked. If anything, he looked too calm.

"Just the thugs who attacked us." The goth replied. "But the funny thing was, they'd been enhanced. Elemental powers, or animal powers. Half and half. Whatever. The point was, someone knew we were there, and wanted us. Mostly Tori and Trina, but Cat and I were on the kidnap list too."

"And you fought back?" Her brother asked, again. "How bad was it?'

"I squared off against some guy wrapped in stone, and he didn't last long." Jade explained. "But everyone else, except Robbie, has powers. Tori and Trina are Inhumans. The result of..."

"Kree experimentation, a long time before either of us were born. I heard about that. I work with the Kree from time to time, remember." Nari explained.

"Tori can run fast, but ages slow. Trina can teleport. More often then you, and naturally, but lacks your interstellar range. She doesn't rely on gadgets linked in through the Bifront. You do link through he Bifrost, right? Know what, never mind that. Where was I?" Jade continued her explanation. "Beck is wearing some kind of power suit, while Andre was trained by S.H.I.E.L.D., probably from a very young age. He was also carrying some gadgets. Not even sure what they do. I-I didn't know what to make of things. I fought, won, and then we, we talked."

"And what, pray tell, is freaking my baby sister so much that this is what she chose to talk to me about?" The Asgardian Prince asked. Jade glared at her brothers projection, silently cursing that he could read her so well.

"Cat blackmailed me into admitting to Tori that I might have a crush on her." Jade admitted, almost in one breath. "Cat already told you about that, right?"

"Just the crush part." He said, smiling. "So, you were rejected, and are feeling bad? I can tell you, most species don't have one hundred percent..."

"She's interested." Jade cut her brother off. "Her sister called her out on it and everything. But when we were left alone we didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to do. It was uncomfortable, like you and Dad trying to coexist for a night. So I went home, and now I still don't know what to do. Making it worse, we agreed to be a team, like Thor and the Avengers. So I know I'm gonna have to work with her, both in school and in training with the team."

He brother smiled, a big, wide, happy smile. "Don't worry, big brother knows just what to do. I'm gonna give you Fandrel's number, then I'm gonna give him a phone. As high tech as we are in Asgard, most of them don't use it to often. But he's called the dashing for a reason. He'll talk you through this.." Nari explained.

"And what're you up to?" Jade asked her brother.

"I'm working on something for Thor." Nari admitted. Then he hesitated, for just a second. "Jade, confession, cause you'll probably need to know. I've never been exiled. I'm Asgards spy among the advanced races. Adam Warlock, mercenary tech, thats my cover identity, and it gets me in place to gather a whole bunch of info from all the advanced races. It's what I do. Now Thor need my help, to find some stuff, dangerous stuff that I can't even talk about. I'm not even sure what I'm looking for, what any of these things look like, but it involved dealing with bad people. People I know about, have worked for... and one I owe. When the time comes, I'm gonna prove to him I'm more dangerous then Death itself..." His eyes hardened, and a predatory smile had crossed his face as he finished his explanation.

Jade didn't respond. It was the first time she'd ever seen her brother looking as dangerous as her mother claimed he was. It shook her, seeing the kind of intimidation stare she was so famous for on her brothers face. Someone, somewhere, was going to hurt, a lot. His image faded, and after what felt like a few moments later, a call came in. "Jade here, why don't I know your number?" Jade answered, grateful for anything that would take her mind off that last image of her brother. 'So angry...'

"My name is Fandrel, I believe we met during your week long visit to the Golden Realm. Nari asked me to help you, told me it was important that I do whatever I can." The voice on the other end hesitated. "I got the feeling he wasn't giving me a choice." He sighed. "Still, I'm happy to help. So tell me about this lovely your trying to impress..."

The second half of the day went smoother for Jade. Fandrel had a charm about him, similar to her fathers, but very different. Loki was charming in the con man kinda way, where Fandrel was more of a pickup artist. However, to Jade, his words were almost magic. He'd spoken of confidence, and reading your prey. The more they'd talked, the more the goth believed she could handle the whole Tori situation. 'I have to make the first move. Be romantic, dashing. Let her know I'm the one she's been holding out for.' Jade told herself, over and over.

"Okay class, thats it for today's lecture." Sikowitz said early in the class. It had been less then five minutes since he started. "Normally I'd send you out to wander the halls, but Helen's been on my case about that. Instead, we'll spend the remaining part of class outside doing a freestyle exercise. I'll lead you out, and you'll find a place to do whatever. I'll be supervising. It'll only look like I'm taking a nap. Then, when the bell rings, one of you will make sure to wake me up so I can get to my next class. And before I forget, I need to talk to every member of the Ping Pong Team after school. Tori, invite Trina for this, since she's been accepted as assistant coach this year." His eyes challenged Jade to contradict what he'd said. "Good, lets go improvise."

Jade walked out behind the others, plotting. As they reached the Asphalt Cafe, the groups broke up and found wherever where they were going to hang until the next bell. Sikwoitz commandeered one of the tables under the overhang, and settled in for his nap. "Beck, a word with you please." Jade cut her Ex from the herd.

"More thoughts on the role I'm playing?" He asked.

"Tell me about a good place for me to take Tori on a date." She said, making it more of a command then a request.

"I don't know." Beck replied. "I find all kinds of places have their charm. Maybe you could find some place with a nice view?"

"Okay, now lets try this again, and you get serious. Where could I take Tori that would be romantic to her?" Jade repeated herself.

"Okay, lets try this again." Beck echoed. "How much you spend doesn't make it romantic. Too many people assume thats the only thing that makes an unforgettable date. And yes, the extra money can buy all kinds of atmosphere. But sometimes, making the most out of what you have is what makes the unforgettable date. And for the record, even though with you it was a death kneel, sometimes girls like the imperfect dates. How you deal with things not going according to plan tells them a lot."

"And you would know this how?" Jade growled.

Beck signed, running his hand through his hair. "I tried those ideas with you, back when we got back together. Idea's that work on normal girls. But jaded goths don't respond that way. Jade, I knew we were doomed when you were so busy looking for the signs that the date was gonna go well, the trappings, that you often missed the wonderful moments. Also, I rediscovered that you were a cheap date. Not in a bad way, just… You just wanted to hang out. I learned to stop trying to impress you and just make our dates about hanging out. Tori is lucky, cause there comes a time when every couple needs their lives to boil down to how they handle it when there isn't a lot to do, and you're good at that. But for now, you're the one on pursuit. Think about a perfect date, then scrap that idea, and think about how to impress her."

"Thanks." Jade drolled. Beck raised his eyebrow, opened his mouth to say something. "Sorry, the advice was good. It's just you made me sound like a total bitch. It's not that I didn't appreciate the effort you put into our dates. They were just... I wasn't feeling it like I used to, back when we started. Is that how things happen? Do we just get so used to one another that we can't feel the love any more?"

"No." Beck replied, his voice softening. "The problem was you weren't interested in me any more. I saw you as a challenge, one I loved, but still someone who'd keep me on my toes. But neither of us were dating the other. We were dating the image of the other. I know, if I ever succeeded in changing you, the way I kept trying to, I'd have lost interest. But I did, I do, love you. I want the best for you. For both of us. So I want this thing with Tori to work out." He put his hand on hers, smiling that million dollar smile, and added "This is for the best. You and Tori, cause we'd destroy one another. And thats not taking into account how chizzing strong you are."

Jade laughed. 'Once again, he knows just what I needed.' Jade thought as she let the stress go. She smiled a warm, caring smile at her ex, and realized she did love him. But now it was more brotherly, like the friend she had had for so long they might as well be a part of her family. Like how she felt about Cat. "Thanks." She said. "I needed that, even if you didn't really answer my original question."

"Food and baby golf." Beck said, smiling. His body shook, like he was suppressing a laugh. "If you can find a course where you haven't been banned."

"If they didn't expect me to throw the putter, then they shouldn't have made holes that laugh at you." Jade growled. But a second later, her smile broke through. "Besides, they could never prove any of that other chiz was me."

"They didn't have too." He reminded her. "They have the right to deny service to anyone, whether they can prove sabotage or not. Now go get your girl."

Jade smiled again, and drifted towards where Tori was hanging out with Andre. The two had been talking quietly, neither too happy. As Jade approached, Andre got up and walked away, saying "Let me know if you need help" first.

"What was that all about?" Jade asked.

"Just pouring my heart out to a friend.' Tori replied. "So, you and Beck..."

"I needed some advice." Jade explained. "He talked to me about a new roll I'm playing. One where I have to be the man in a relationship."

"So you don't have a penis?" Tori asked, trying not to sound too bitter.

"Vega..." Jade growled. Then, with a deep breath, she pushed ahead. "I'll understand if there's too much bad between us, and you don't want to go out. I was just thinking, maybe we could try some baby golf, maybe catch a meal."

"But you... and Beck..." Tori stammered.

"I asked him where people take their dates. He said I could avoid anything too fancy, and try the classics." Jade explained. "And let me tell you, this isn't easy. I've been banned from half the baby golf courses in the area."

"I figured." Tori said. At Jade's hurt look, she continued. "Trina's a club thrower too. I-I assume thats why they banned you, cause I know sometimes you let your frustration get the better of you."

"Oh." Jade mouthed. Then after gulping, she asked "Will you go out with me?"

The singer took several moments thinking. "Sure." She finally said. "I'll text you when to pick me up."

After Sikwotiz's class ended, they scattered to their last class of the day. For Jade and Robbie, it was honors English. Both were intelligent enough to get placed in the AP classes, despite being juniors. Both were probably going to take collage courses during their senior year. Neither was really invested in that days assignments. Along with Sinjin, they formed a strange core of the AP class. Jade was popular, Robbie was popular-ish, and Sinjin was popular adjacent. In that class, they were the cool kids who had brains and hung out with the nerds.

Jade would have preferred to have someone take notes for her so she could think about where she was going to take Tori. Unfortunately she'd gained a (admittedly deserved) reputation as a note-napper. She could threaten someone into lending her their notes, but most of them were now watching for when she was or wasn't paying attention in class. They would avoid her on any day she wasn't. As a result, Jade found herself taking notes, doodling, and doing whatever to make it through the day. 'I'm a fucking princess. I shouldn't have to worry about people not lending me their notes.' She was disgusted how often that argument was coming up lately in her inner monologue.

One of her doodles looked a lot like Tori. Jade wanted to cross it out, but she didn't, because as much as she didn't like the likeness, it was good enough. Just like the dozens of others that filled the odd spaces in the margins throughout her notebook.

"And she can draw too." Rex's voice pulled her out of the short writing assignment she was working on. The Asgardian knew something was off, but had no idea what. Her cloaking field was on, preventing anyone from finding her with their sensors if she didn't want them to. "Man, is there no end to your skills?"

"Robbie, take it away before I rip it's head off." Jade growled.

"Okay, no need to get your panties in a twist." Rex said as Robbie pulled him back to their chair. Then the demented puppet whispered in Robbie's ear. "She's into Tori. Man, do I want to watch that. But it may also be our in to using her."

"Problem." Rob replied softly. "Tori's fast, and strong, I mean, stronger then I am. Who knows what she could do."

"We need a spy on this, now." Rex said. "Reach out to your contacts, and lets see who can help us."

"I think I know just the guy." Robbie said, allowing himself to smile a wicked smile.

Later, the whole group walked into the Ping Pong room, along with Mal and Sikowitz. "Okay, everyone, lets get this started. First, you all know Mister Anderson, Malcolm, here. Turns out he's a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Now that that bit of unpleasantness is dealt with, lets move on. Tori told me you needed funding, and I reached out to my old collage roommate. We talked, and he agreed to help out with an annual annuity. Thats gives us a running budget, but not the initial funds to start with. Mal told me that we had a donor who was willing to give us some cash, and with the funds from a fundraiser he is organizing at his yacht club, we'll probably have out starting funds. But until that gets sorted out, Jade's mom said that Jade's dad had a human ally who owned a junkyard. Ally, not friend? Come on Jade, even your family's a bit… Well..." He looked around, then continued. "We will be using that for some of our training, once everyone gets a mission suit. So, questions."

"Do you want to know what everyone can do?" Andre asked.

"I'd love to know." Mal said.

"Jade's strong, and has some other abilities she hasn't developed yet. Cat's an energy wielding cyborg. Beck's in some kind of magnetic suit. Tori's fast, while Trina can teleport." Robbie said. "You probably know what Andre can do."

"And you?" The S.H.I.E.L.D. agent asked.

"I'm the normal one." Rob replied. "But I'm hoping to help out, in a non-combat kinda way. Maybe in combat, if I get a nifty enough suit."

"Right." The big man said, turning to go over everything again. "Jade, according to my notes, you say you're Thor's niece. Is that true?"

"Do I have to call him, cause I think he has an unlisted hammer." Jade said, smirking.

"Do you have proof of this claim?" Mal tried again.

"I saw it." Cat said. "Back when we were in Asgard."

"And how do you know it was Asgard, and not some part of an elaborate hoax?" The agent asked.

"Let me show you the pictures." Cat chirped, pulling out her phone. "We were there a week, so I think it would have been hard to fake all of the things we saw." Cat continued. "But if you say that isn't Sif, and the Warriors Three, then I'll believe you."

The agent opened his own phone to a secure site, and loaded a picture. Comparing the two pictures, he confirmed the identity of the lady Sif. "Crap." He deleted the image from his phone. "It looks like that part of the story checks. And if that part does, then the odds are the rest does too. Jade, we acknowledge your title in Asgard, but we don't give much special treatment for that here. Here, you are a high school junior with some heavy powers we need to keep an eye on..."

"Thors on good terms with this Coulson guy." Jade said casually. "He your boss?"

"Thats not important." Mal said, then turned to Andre. "Is she supposed to be on the index?"

"Probably not the way you think." The musician replied. "Jade, you agreed to be on this team, and S.H.I.E.L.D. will be keeping an eye on you. All of you. But this is strictly a protection detail. We're trying to have you live as normal lives as possible. But that will require us to work with S.H.I.E.L.D. For now, lets figure out where we can train, get used to each others abilities. Then I suggest we all head home. I want this to be as easy a transition as possible. Mal, how long until we can have a place of our own?"

"I'll run those numbers for you, and get back to you." He replied.

"Okay then, the next order of business is getting a base line. Everyone will take off whatever cloaking devices that have, and let Sikowitz get a look at them. Later, when we're training, he'll continue to evaluate us." The young agent instructed.

"Um?" Jade's hand was up, as well as Robbie's and cats.

"Yea?" Andre asked.

"Why?" The goth asked.

"Oh, yea." Dre said. "Sikowitz can read the powers and auras of the Inhumans. He can decipher something in their electromagnetic aura's, like all people have, and read their abilities. He can also diagnose areas of illness like no one else, and presumably he'll be able to read your energy signature and guess who knows what about you." Then to Cat and Robbie, "And your questions?"

"No, I'm good." Robbie said.

"Will there be bibble?" Cat asked. "Like a bibble allowance?"

"Okay, now that we've cleared that up, who's first?" The teacher asked, ignoring Cat's question.

"I'll go." Tori said.

"What up with Cat and bibble?" Mal asked.

"No offense, but you've already benefited from this." Andre pointed out. "Jade, would you go first?"

"Cat has a bibble problem." Robbie answered, but his attention was on Jade.

"Do I need to take anything off?" She asked.

"Only what your comfortable with." Sikowitz said. "And the cloaking field." Jade deactivated the field as the teacher concentrated on looking at her. "Great Gandi." Sikowitz shielded his eyes. "How much power do you have? Wait, that's your life force? Holy coconuts… Wait, I'll bet you probably can only access a smell amount of it, but your life force is HUGE. With training, maybe you can access more, not much but more. However, for now any access you have is sloppy, unfocused, wasting energy for each effect. But with training, you could focus that wherever you wanted, like into resilience, be almost unbreakable. And... You have other abilities too. Things you haven't mentioned yet. Another type of energy mixed in, but your life force is so chizzing thick it blurs your talents."

Cat elbowed her friend. "I'm kinda learning Asgardian Sorcery." Jade admitted. "I was learning from my grandmother, before she died. I have access to other tutors, but it's really slow. My grandmother was so good at teaching me stuff." She sighed, then pulled herself from her memory. "Right now, the best I can do is reach out and project an image of myself somewhere, but I need to concentrate to do it."

"Just an image?" Andre asked. "So it's just a distraction?"

"No, I can interact through it, see what it sees, talk to whomever I designate on the other end." Jade explained.

"How far?" Andre asked.

"It's for communication." Jade pointed out.

"How far?" He asked again.

"Asgard, further." Jade replied.

"It's kinda telepathic, right? Do you have to have a receptive mind? Can you use it to scout?" The musician asked.

"I need a receptive mind, and could use it to see what was in the area around whomever I was talking too." Jade said. "My brother could... That Bastard!" her face morphed into rage, making almost all her friends step back.

"Jade?" Beck said, worried. Tori was already holding her girl.

"Every time he reached out to talk to me, he was checking out my environment. He always knew where I was." She ranted.

"Like a tracking chip in your phone was too mundane for him." Cat commented. "Jade, Adam had a million ways of keeping an eye on you. He respected your request for privacy."

"See anything else?" Andre asked Sikowitz.

"Jade's gonna need a lot of time to fully develop her abilities, but she could be powerful." The old thespian said. "Who's Adam?"

"Her brother." Cat said. "Same mother, but a hundred years older."

"Two hundred." Jade corrected her friend.

"Anyways, he's more skilled in all that chiz then she is." Cat continued.

"And they named him Adam?" Andre asked.

"No, he's named Nari." Cat continued. "But to us, he uses the name Adam the Warlock."

"The Adam Warlock?" Mal asked, suddenly even more interested then he was. "Mercenary Tech, specializes in being able to figure out and repair any tech no matter how odd or ancient?"

"So you've heard of him?" Cat asked, smiling.

"He's Asgardian?" Mal asked, and Cat nodded. "He's one of the most sought after techs on earth. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s been watching him for years. That is, as much as we can, given how he just disappears whenever he wants too." A moment of thought passed. "I guess this explains that."

"He was in Kree space last I heard, but that was a while ago." Cat said, still smiling.

"How advanced is his tech?" The experienced shield agent asked, now a bit shaken.

"Advanced enough not to leave any scars." Andre replied. "I'll bet, without Sikowitz, we wouldn't be able to detect whatever he did to Cat. Not with our science. Maybe not even with his abilities. Cat, why don't you go next?"

"We weren't done with Jade." Robbie said.

"We can learn more later." Dre pushed. "Cat, stand there, and if you have a cloaking field, drop it."

"No need, I can see what he did to her." The teacher said. "Maybe fifteen times normal strength, but he gave you the ability to turn that off. Thats good. Interesting. You seem to absorb energy from the room, storing it in your body. I can see where the links are, and he included a self repair system. You'll probably live a couple of hundred years. But that's most likely a side effect. The self repair system is probably to keep the weapons and other systems working. Okay, I have what I needed."

"Good." Andre said. "Beck, you're up."

"But I'm not in my armor." Beck protested.

"But I need to know." Andre emphasized. "Beck, this is the base look. He'll be looking at us doing everything. Maybe he won't get anything today. Probably won't. But later, when he's helping Mal there evaluate how we fight, use our powers, what he gets today might be invaluable."

"Or useless." Rex chirped in.

"But it costs you only a few moments." Andre argued. "Beck, please."

"Okay." Beck stepped forward. "Um, if this is sight based, haven't you already taken a look at all of us?"

"I did." The coconut lover replied. "But for medial diagnosis, or things like that, I have to look more carefully. It takes effort. But it's worth it if I help my students learn what thy can do." He looked Beck over for several seconds. "Okay, you have some kind of interference making it harder to see your energy. But your aura, it's clear as day. It's flowing through this interference..."

"Sinjin gave me a layer of something to help me deal with all the energy that flows through my body." The handsome boy said, remembering it. "It also gives me a high resistance to radiation."

"Well, I'd recommend you be ready to work off the extra energy, cause this interference is pumping the energy it shunts into you as a form of extra endurance. Maybe even a little extra strength." Sikowitz said.

"Wait." Cat cut in. "I just realized, I'm not the only cyborg freak in the group." She almost danced in place with joy.

"What?" Jade asked.

"Beck's a cyborg too." Cat pointed out.

"Not quite." Robbie said. "Beck does have something artificial in his body, but cyborgs are part machine. He just has whatever materials were put there to protect him."

"But the definition is a human who's abilities were enhanced by mechanical means." Jade pointed out. "Beck is, technically, a cyborg."

"Plus, there has to be some kind of programming to protect him, make sure the energy doesn't fry his body." Sikowitz added. "No, Beck is a cyborg freak. Please stand next to Cat."

"Not appreciating being called a freak." Beck said, but walked over to where Cat was.

"Okay, then one to go." Andre said, taking a deep breath.

"But I'm not going to be fighting." Robbie protested. "Can't this wait until I get that cool radiation accident, gain powers?"

"I'm sure it's just a precaution, like with me." Beck pointed out.

"I was referring to me." Andre said.

As Andre was posing for Sikowitz, Jade asked Beck the question that had been bothering her for a while. "Guardian?"

"What, I was supposed to tell the cop my name?" The Canadian replied.

"We all need names." Tori said. "I mean, on the battlefield, what do we call each other? I sure don't want Jade yelling Vega at me every time she wants to communicate."

"I was thinking about that." Andre said, walking over to check with Sikowitz.

"I doubt I have anything new I could tell you." The teacher said.

"But you will, I'm sure of it." The musician said. "Now, I agree with Tori, we do need code names. Think about it. The Avengers, their not made up of Tony Stark, Banner, and whoever else is in the team. Their Iron Man, The Hulk, and the others. We need code names for all of you."

"I call dibs on naming Jade." Trina said quickly.

"Careful." Cat stepped in. "She'll forgive me. I can't guarantee she'll forgive anyone else."

"Oh yea, Cat, I meant to tell you." Jade said smiling. "I may have accidentally texted Lendle using your phone, asking him to call. And you know how your phone sometimes includes those pictures of you, in that bikini, from that visit to the beach. I keep telling you not to leave those on your phone. So if he calls, just let him know it was a mistake, okay?"

"You sent him a text, with my number, and a picture of me looking supper cute?" Cat demanded.

"Among others." Jade continued. "I was gonna send the text to Sinjin, but your betrayal of my trust didn't warrant anyone as dateable as him. But don't worry, I did it for your own good." Her smile was saccharin sweet, and just as fake.

"How was that for my own good?" Cat asked.

"Simple." Jade replied. "I wanted to forgive you, and we both knew I couldn't until I hurt you as badly as you hurt me."

"But I did that for..." She froze, not willing to risk angering the goth more.

"Look. He's not that bad." Jade started.

"Yes he is." Cat shot back. "He's a doctors son, and Trina won't go near him."

"I want hot, not rich." Trina said. "I'll take care of rich myself."

"What I meant was he's harmless." Jade said. "You just keep rejecting him, and eventually he'll let you go."

"Okay, I know what to call Jade." Cat said. "We call her Power Princess."

"Cat!" Jade warned.

"What?" Andre said. "It's just a name, and we're the only ones who'll know your an actual princess. So that works. Now what should we call Cat?"

"I have some suggestions." Jade started.

"Golden Girl." Beck said quickly. "Like that world war two heroin."

"She had that name because she was Asian." Andre pointed out. "She didn't have any powers."

"But Cat generates a golden field, and her powers are mostly golden." Beck explained.

"I'll take it." Cat said. "That is, unless mistress unicorn is available."

"So what about the Vega's?" Beck asked.

"Or the purple giraffe." Cat continued.

"Your field is gold." Jade pointed out.

"The golden giraffe sounds kinda weak." Cat said.

"We've named you." Jade said coldly.

"Oh Phooey." Cat griped.

Jade continued. "Now we're naming the Vega's. I say we call Tori..."

"Lets not." Beck cut her off.

"You have no proof I was going to say something demeaning." Jade huffed.

"Okay, tell us your suggestion, and if it's not insulting, we'll owe you an apology." Beck said, smiling.

"I was gonna suggest..." Her first suggestion wasn't good. Now she was stuck trying to find a good name for the girl. "Quickling, like those annoying fairy things from that game I used to play when I was growing up."

"Okay, thats not bad, just not the best." Beck said.

"It may be good enough." Andre said. "Or not. We call her Fae. It's more mysterious."

"And what do we call Trina?" Beck asked.

"Cheshire." Jade suggested. "Not the place, or places since according to Pearpidea, there are two of those. But it suggesters the cat from that psychotic childrens story. And Trina is a good fighter too."

"I like it." Andre said. "Okay, we have Distortion, thats me, Guardian, Power Princess, Golden Girl, Fae, and Cheshire. We just need a team name."

"I don't know about Fae." Cat said. "It doesn't fit her powers."

"Maybe Blitz." Robbie suggested.

"The Fae were mysterious creatures." Andre argued.

"Blitz sounds fast." Robbie argued. "And in football, when they rush the quarterback, it's called a blitz."

"Okay, but doesn't that sound kinda masculine?" Andre asked.

"Yea, we don't want to confuse the public." Beck added.

"Then maybe we should call her super heroin Barbie!" Jade snapped.

"Blitz it is." Tori said.

Andre asked her "You sure about Fae?"

"No Fae." Jade said.

"So what do we call the team?" Robbie asked. "I mean, we have names for all of you, but not the team. And didn't the Avengers get their name from the initiative that brought them all together."

"Um," Cat said, raising her hand. "Sikowitz doesn't have a name."

"We'll call him the Seer." Mal said. "Now about your teams name."

"I think we should make it clear we're about defense, like Protecters, or Defenders." Beck said.

"How about we call ourselves the Strike Force?" Trina chimed in. Jade kinda liked that name, but wasn't about to openly agree with Trina.

"Champions." Mal said. "We call the project the champions project. You're the Champions."

"Works for me." Sikowitz said. "Now, we meet at the junkyard to practice, say some time this week. I'll let you know when we have everything worked out."

"Thats my job." Mal said. "You focus on helping them develop their abilities."

"Okay, if you insist." The teacher said with a sigh. For several moments, everyone was standing around, not sure what to do next. "What? I thought it was someone else's job to dismiss you."

"Dismissed." Andre said. The gang started breaking up. "And guys, as soon as I can get them, we're getting better communications equipment."

:}

Okay, this may or may not be it. I think I'll write one more chapter, then work on a sequel. I know, not a lot of action. But this was the origin story. Getting them together. More to come once I figure out where to go from here. Also, I don't have anything else pre-written.

Sorry about the delay, but my computer was having problems. Still is, but it's not as bad. I have my word processing program back. So, sorry about the delay.

Comments, questions, or whatever, please review. I also take well wishes or my computer, and all the praise you can give.

References about the names suggested.

Quicklings are from TSR, a type of dark sprite that moved incredibly fast.

Blizt is a character from the Stormwatch, a team from WildStorm, owned by DC comics.

Cheshire is a martian assassin in the DC universe.

Guardian, Golden girl and Power Princess are characters from marvel comics. Guardian was with alpha flight, and wore a costume much like the one I envision Beck in. Power Princess was from Squadron supreme, a ripoff of the Justice league. As for Golden Girl, during World War Two, There were two woman who used that name, the first named (Yeach) Betsy Ross, who was the sidekick to the third Captain America. She had a bullet proof cape. The second golden girl was an Asian girl with power over light and golden colored force. She was a part of the Kid commando's. The one I'm using is an amalgamation of the two.

Defenders is a team from Marvel. They have a long and interesting history, and at one point the silver surfer was a member.

The Champions was Marvels first Los Angeles based group back in 1975-1978. However, they lost the copyright to that name when they didn't use it. Hero Games has the trademark, and uses the name for their own group, as well as a super hero roll playing game.

Hero Games also owned the name for two different teams, Strike Force and the Protectors. In 1998, Hero Games had a team called the protectors in one of their modals. In 1992, the name was used by Malabu Comics, but by now is public domain. There was also British TV series by that name in the seventies. (Okay, the protectors were technically owned by Steve Jackson Games, but the product with them in it was published with Hero's blessing.)


	14. Chapter 14 shadows of what may be

Disclaimer: I don't own Victorious or Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I just like to play with them like dolls.

Warning, this is the last chapter of origins. Watch of the sequel, where things may actually happen, "Victorious Champions". I hope to be working on it as soon as I work out the last of my computer problems.

:}

It was the day after their big meeting and Beck was sitting with Sinjin and his sister, talking about how much the boys wounds were still hurting. "I mean, it's a couple of weeks. How long does it take for a cracked rib to heal?"

"I'm getting there." Sinjin said. "Just, you know, it hurts. A lot. But I hope the way I take the pain makes me seem more manly to the girls."

"Keep dreaming." Courtney said. "Still, I think you should consider being Beck's wing-man. He can tell girls he's in a relationship, and direct them to you. Those who don't want to seem shallow will give you a chance, and Beck can stay faithful to me."

Before Beck could remind the girl they were not, in fact, dating, Robbie walked up to the group. "Hey Beck, Courtney, Sinjin. Beck, I was wondering if you'd had a chance to talk to Sinjin about my problem yet?"

"Problem?" Sinjin asked.

"Not here." Beck said. "Rob, why don't we talk about this during our ping pong practice." Then he saw someone. "Tori, wait up." He looked at his friends. "I need to check up on... Um, I'll tell you later."

"Okay." Sinjin said. "Rob, give me a hand getting to class, and I'll listen to what you want." The puppeteer then told the inventor what he was hoping for in powered armor.

Beck caught up with Tori. "So, how was it?"

"Jade's a baby golf hustler." Tori huffed.

"And she won't just let you win." Beck agreed. "But it could have been worse, you could have been playing against Cat."

"That would have cost me candy." Tori complained. "This cost me kisses."

"Kisses?" Beck asked.

"It was something Danny and I did, back in the day." The Latina stopped to explain, leaning against her locker. "Safe kissing game. But Jade is a hustler!"

"How badly did she beat you?" He asked. "And what did she make you do?"

"The rules were you had to kiss the winner in a way they liked, and nothing too dirty." Tori explained. "I figured we'd just get into the kissing. But we wound up playing to beat each other."

"Jade's good." Beck agreed.

"And so am I." Tori said, looking peeved. "Thats why I'm upset. I was planning on making out with her, and she kept winning her share of games."

"You're upset cause she's as much a shark as you are?" Beck laughed as he spoke, having trouble staying focused.

"And her competitive spirit ruined what should have been a nice kissing game." Tori groused.

"Sorry, no sympathy for the girl who spent at least fifty holes making out with my ex." The Canadian said as he drifted towards his locker. Tori glared after him, not understanding that she did get to kiss Jade dozens of timers, despite their competitiveness.

Later, across town, in what appeared to be a somewhat run down junk yard, Mal, Andre and Sikowitz were looking the place over. "Funny thing, back in the nineties, we could have purchased this place for a song. But then the market for the scrap metals picked up, and national conglomerates started buying these recycling yard." Mal was saying. "Then China dropped how much they were willing to pay for the base metals, and he market took another crash. But this place, we seized it. Turns out the owner was using this place to disappear people. S.H.I.E.L.D. is selling the land to you for a song, just to get your base up and running. Of course, we'll still need to build a base, but one thing at a time."

"We can train here." Andre said. "But where do we meet until the base is built. These things take time." Then to Mal. "How long are we looking at?"

"Maybe a year." Mal said. When the quirky teacher and budding hero looked at him, he just shrugged. "Like you said, these things take time. The Avengers Headquarters you stayed in, that took a while to build. Even working around the clock, full crews, it still took over a year to complete. But once we get it up and running, it'll be worth it."

"We need a place to meet, just until this place is up and running." Sikowitz said, not caring about the dirty conditions around him. "Maybe we could rent a warehouse?"

"We were thinking of letting you use a part of the base we're setting up as the LA relay for the Quinjet transport services we're now offering." Mal told the teacher. "The same one that will allow Inhumans to visit your hidden town."

"See, everything's taken care of." Andre said, smiling.

"Too bad you couldn't recover one of those old Hydra bases, convert it to our use." Sikowitz said. "The junkyards gonna draw the wrong kind of attention."

"We build an inconspicuous entrance outside the yard, place guard dogs in the perimeter, and wala, no one will know your using it for a secret base." Mal said. "The hard parts going to be the heavy Constitution equipment working around the clock to excavate the site, put the facilities in, and bury it again. We'll do everything we can, but I can't guarantee this will be done in the next couple of years. Still, the relay station is happy to have you use it until we finish."

"With us under heavy surveillance?" Sikowits asked. "I'm not sure I can sell that to my students."

"I know it kinda sucks." Andre told his favorite teacher. "But what other options do we have. Face it, we've reached out to all our contacts, everyone we know, and gotten whatever they can give. This is it. Long term, we're golden. And short term, we have everything we need to train and develop teamwork. It's not like someone's gonna just drop a shiny new base off for us to use."

They continued to discus what they'd need for the team to be successful. A hanger for the vehicles they hoped never to need. Quarters for when the team needed to stay at base, or just for them to have a place of their own to go and relax at. Various scientific thing for Sinjin to play with as part of their support network. Slowly the first draft of the base came alive, with them agreeing on what they'd need, but not how to get it into the ground.

The three were busy looking over the large junkyard, discussion what were by now the dream adders to the base like a coffee bar and an espresso machine. They saw the stacked cars, the various piles of waste, and didn't think twice about it. They were among the junk. Even if they were looking, it would have been hard for them to have spotted the stealth drone that was following them, watching, listening, hearing every word. The same drone that, as they shifted to talking gossip about Tori and Jade, generated a small, intense, localized gravitational anomaly that tore open a small hole in the fabric of space and time. The certainly wouldn't have noticed the nanite swarm that flew through he hole and into the ground, the various junked vehicles, or anything else that was hidden in the vast junk yard. Later, they would hear about the series of small localized earthquakes that would rock this neighborhood throughout the night, but how could they ever link that with what was being done to their junk yard.

/

Across town, a tall, handsome young man was waling into a coffee shop. He had that bad boy vibe about him, while still looking just respectable enough to draw the attention of every girl in the store. Moments later, he would make contact with Trina, who was hanging there with one of her friends. "Hi, I'm Griffin. I hope you don't mind me approaching, but you remind me of someone I used to date."

"Oh really?" Trina huffed.

"Sorry, it's just, I have a type, and you're definitely it." He smiled at her, and her legs almost melted. "Something about you says I can trust you, and I find that a hella attractive." Unsure how to react when hot boy was coming on to her, she didn't even think there could be anything wrong.

They talked for a while, until he looked at his watch. She learned he'd just recently moved there from Seattle, and when it was brought up, he admitted to knowing Cat's roommate Sam. "What are the odds?" She asked.

"I dated her friend, Carly, from iCarly." Griffin admitted. "You and her, very similar aura's. It's what drew me to you. I can only assume your also a young celebrity with a load of fans."

"I was on this one show, on the Spanish Language channel." Trina admitted, looking at the wall.

"Oh my god, you were lady Cheese boobs." He squealed with recognition. "I had the biggest crush on you. I guess it's hard to recognize you without the costume."

"I get that." Trina said. "I'm waiting for a better part now, something that doesn't have me chased around by kids dressed as rodents."

"I'm sure you'll get it." He assured her. "You have that thing that says you'll be great." He looked at his watch. "It's getting late. You have a ride? Cause if not, I could giver you a lift on the back of my bike. It's a Harley."

Trina laughed. "I drive. I mean, I drove here. Otherwise I'd love for you to give me a ride. On your bike, I mean..." She blushed, and he seemed to just ignore it.

"I'd let you go, but I need two things from you." Griffin said. When Trina's eyebrow went up, he continued. "Your name, cause I want to know who I'll be dreaming of all night. And it was so hard to figure out which one was you when I don't speak Spanish" He smiled his brilliant smile. "And I'll need your phone number. I intend to call."

"I'm Trina Vega." She informed him as she entered her name and contact info into his phone.

"Well Trina Vega, I look forward to..." He hesitated for several moments. "Did you sing at the platinum Music Awards?"

Trina really wanted to take credit for that, but if she did it would be too easy to disprove. So she resorted to the truth. "No,. My sister did that one." She admitted.

"Thank god." He said. "The press made her out to be a Prima Donna."

"She's a lot more down to earth." Trina assured him. "But she's also started a relationship, with a real..."

"Doesn't matter." Griffin cut her off. "Look, I'm sure you get people talking about your sister all the time. She's one hell of a singer. But I'm interested in you. You look to be going places, and I think we can help one another. Also, as you said, she's seeing someone. And me, I believe in the potential of one look. And you had me at that first look, the moment you're eyes caught mine. Trina, I will call, and I will meet your parents. But for now, I gotta run, cause I was sent here to avoid the problems I was having back in Seattle, so I want to get home before they call the cops on me...Again."

With that, Griffin was walking her out the door. "I thought you said you had to get home?" Trina asked.

"I'm going." He replied.. "Just as soon as I know your safely on your way home."

"I can take care of myself." Trina assured him.

"I'm sure." Griffin said, blushing just a bit. "But I want you home so no one else see's what a treasure you really are and snatches you up before I can win your heart. And text me when you get there, so I know you're safe."

Once Trina was in her car and driving away, the handsome boy pulled out a second, burner phone and called a number not in his contacts. "I've made contact." He said. "It was just as easy as you said it would be. Soon, I'll be a part of her world, and all her families secrets will be mine. Just keep your word."

The voice on the other end belonged to Rex Powers. "You'll need powers for this to work." The puppet said. "I'll arrange for something. But don't worry, do as I say, and all the super rare Pee Wee Babies will be yours." The puppet laughed. "Just, when the time comes, the girls, Tori and Trina, they come to me."

"No problem." Griffin said. "As long as I have power, and the super rare collectable Pee Wee Babies, I can get any woman I want."

Griffin then walked over the Harley which was stolen and then made "Legal" by one of Robbie's tech tricks, and rode to his new, two bedroom apartment with temperature control for the second bedroom. The room that now held his collectables. "Yea, it's good to be bad." He said as he looked at the open spaces he would fill. "I'm gonna be the envy of every girl at the next Gathering of the Pee Wee's."

A short time later, Robbie was waiting to meet up with a contact. Of course, Robbie wasn't too happy about where he was meeting this contact, the one his so called friends on the street directed him too. It wasn't the scuzzy neighborhood. Rob had been in the neighborhood anyways, letting one of his little rock men rob a drug gangs counting house. The small stone guy brought back a nice bundle of cash, money that would go to helping fund Rex's next plan. But this, it was just crazy. 'Wish I hadn't thought of this, or pushed.' The mystic thought. 'Meeting someone as dangerous as him, and not in a public place.'

"So you're the kid who managed to contact me." A tall man said. Robbie knew how dangerous this whole situation was, so he'd planned ahead. He was wearing one of the talismans he had helped Rex make. It was set to activate if any harm was about to befall him, giving him the edge in a potential fight.

Robbie looked the tall man over. Six two, with dark hair and a few days growth of beard, he didn't look so much like a trained agent as a very intimidating thug. But Robbie knew the difference. This was the escaped brother of the now dead Senator Ward. This man was reason enough to take every precaution. "It wasn't that hard." Rob said, shrugging. "I'm decent with tech, and while you didn't leave a footprint, I figured you'd be monitoring anything S.H.I.E.L.D. related. It didn't take much to plant the story, get your people to talk to mine."

"Okay, you have my attention." Grant Ward, former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and member of Hydra, said. "Now make it worth my while, so I don't feel the need to kill you right now."

"Like you want to go face to face with another Asgadian?" Robbie scoffed. "No, not me. I'm just close to the people in the Champions Project. And they have Thor's niece in the group. She knows me, and will receive info about you if I just disappear." The smaller boy looked the experienced agent in the eye, not showing any fear. Robbie was a trained actor, and knew that showing fear wouldn't be a good idea. Besides, today, he held a lot of the cards.

"You expect me to believe that?" Grant asked. But Robbie noted that the Hydra agent didn't move.

"You can believe what you want." Rob said. "I work for someone with big plans. Someone who is willing to work with Hydra, cause as much power as he has, he isn't sure he can take out all of the Champions."

"So he needs me?" Grant asked. "And what do I get in return?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. level tech, from a new source." Robbie commented, not bothering to look too impressed. "There's more, info on the new group, it's members and their abilities. Info on the Inhumans. You're interested in that, right? I have access, got it through dumb luck. But I have it, and I'm willing to finagle my place with the Champions project into giving you new access to S.H.I.E.L.D."

"And what can we do for you?" The agent asked, now intrigued. Mostly on the prospects of learning more about the Inhumans.

"Several things, actually." Rob replied. "My boss has a crew hitting some of the local criminals for cash. It'd be dumb to spend any of that locally. You could help by laundering it. For a reasonable rate. Then there's manpower. Simply put, Hydra's a brand name, draws applicants without having to do much. We'll need men, spacial men, to help combat this new threat. Finally, an understanding. The subject of the Champions Project, their all high school age, like me. Some of them are my friends. I want to save them from what S.H.I.E.L.D. has planned for them. It's why I'm in this. So when the time comes, if I can, I get to save a couple of the girls. Assuming they're not too far gone, I hope to help them adapt."

"I could get you something special." Grant replied. "We have survivors from some of the fights we had with the Avengers, who've gone through a version of the Deathlock program. Not perfect, not as clean as we'd once hoped. But cyborg warriors might be what you're looking for. But I'll need to know, the freaks you sent to kidnap those girls. How'd you give them power, and why did it fade?"

"The Deathlock rejects will do fine." Robbie said. "As for the temporary enhancements, my boss has a way. I'm not in that loop."

"But you're carrying one, right?" Grant asked. "Cause I couldn't think of sending a single kid out to meet someone as dangerous as me without some kind of plan to get him out, and my men didn't see any backup hanging around to save you. Or were you thinking that Thor's niece was a big enough threat to make me reconsider."

"You haven't met her. Once you do, you'll be as scared as everyone else is." The nerdy boy said, staying calm. "But yea, I have a contingency in place, one that would get me out of here, and make you regret hurting me."

"What?" Grant asked, smirking.

"If someone tried to hurt me, I'd explode." Robbie said. "Then I'd reform later. But my weight in TNT, that's be a big enough explosion to take whomever threatened me out, and draw the police like moths to a flame."

"Now I want to see that in action." Grant said, backing up. "You're what, one hundred and thirty pounds? That would be a decent bang. No shrapnel, so I'd guess the concussion wave would be about..." Grant had backed up almost a block away. Robbie hadn't just let the man back off. He'd sent one of his stone friends to stop whatever the man had planned.

Grant pulled out his gun, and had a ten pound rock man leap into his gut. The agent was soon involved in a brawl with a small rock man. The smaller figure danced and avoided the larger one, using it's enhanced strength to it's best effect. It leaped, struck, and fell back to reposition. Having about as much strength as a normal man, the ten lbs of rock was functionally a self propelled single rock stoning. Robbie kept it aiming at the lower body until Grant either ran away, or stopped.

Grant caught the small stone and held it, allowing the weight to shift as his grip slowly slipped. "Okay, this is an annoying power, but I see how having a backup like this would be useful. Now, if this is a person, I should shoot it, so they couldn't just shift back to human form."

"Or, it could be an automaton, and in addition to waiting your ammo, you'd draw the police." Robbie called back. "Do we have a deal, cause I'm not exploding for your amusement."

"I want that fail safe." Grant said. "Give it to me, and we have a deal."

"It'll take a couple of days to get you one." The mystic said. "But I will. Then, will you agree to have a secure video chat with my boss?"

"If you deliver, then we have nothing more to discuss." Grant said, approaching Robbie with a confident swagger. "I'll be happy to work out the details, but I think we'd have ourselves a deal."

:}

Grant Ward is a recurring character who was a part of the main team from the show, and turned out to be a part of Hydra. He's kinda a big deal baddy, who's played both sides of the law against each other. Level six, specialized in going in alone and getting things done. They hinted in the shows season two finally that he would be the one to rebuild Hydra after Age of Ultron.

The power Robbie has as a one use save my ass thing is the ability Marvel's villain Nitro has. Explosive, if you ask me.

Griffin is the boy from "I date a bad boy." Carly dated him, and he did have an obsession with Pee Wee Babies. I just brought back the bad in him.

Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, and will be watching for the sequel. I'll start brainstorming ideas soon. I hope I left you with some things to think about.


End file.
